Finding A Way
by Dystopia'74
Summary: EREN x LEVI: WARNING! SPOILERS - Eren Jaeger's world entirely shifted due to recent discoveries. However, his ability to transform into a titan isn't the only thing he didn't know about himself.
1. Chapter 1

"Fucking hell."

Eren wiped the dirt off his face as he pushed off of the ground, standing up and glancing down for the culprit responsible for his fall. His eyes landed on three buckets that somehow found their way to the middle of the stables, and he kicked them aside with a groan.

His hands traced across the wall as he made his way towards the back door of the stables, unlocking them to allow the dawn's light to stream in. It was the third time this week that Levi woke him up this damn early to go clean out the stables and muck the horses.

He picked up the brushes and started working his way through the horses, yawning every once in a while and wiping more dirt off his forehead. Eren had half a mind to throw the brushes away and march right into Levi's room in his dirt-covered state and maybe even roll around the floor, just to give Levi a taste of his own medicine. Of course, he wouldn't make it past the doorstep alive; the Corporal had a way of sniffing out dirt from miles off and eliminating it.

Hell, Eren sometimes thought that the Corporal views the dirt as a bigger threat than titans. Speaking of Titans, wasn't it the Corporal's job to keep an eye on Eren? And to train him to control his Titan form?

Eren snorted, he's doing one fantastic job.

"Oh Titans approaching? I wouldn't know how to save humanity's ass but you can count on me if one of the Titans needed scrubbing," he muttered under his breath, scowling.

"Eren?"

The brush almost fell from the boy's hand as he immediately jumped up, startled that any being other than him would be awake at this time of day. He squinted, trying to make a shape out of the shadows.

"Mikasa?" Eren relaxed, allowing his shoulders to sag again under the weight of the bucket he was holding, and walked towards her.

"What are you doing here so early?" Mikasa raised an eyebrow, then narrowed her eyes, "It's him, isn't it? That Corporal, he's using you as a slave, Eren!"

Eren sighed, then smiled slightly, "Mikasa, I'm fine," he said, "It's all part of my training."

"Really? Because it looks like Levi is making you do all his dirty work for him," she spat, then crossed the distance between them, reaching out to wipe a spot of dirt off of Eren's cheek before he ducked away out of her reach.

"Mikasa, I said I'm fine," Eren muttered, "I can handle this."

"Are you sure? Because lately it seems like-"

"EREN!" A voice boomed through the stables, causing Eren to curse under his breath.

"I'm sure you didn't hear me correctly," the Corporal said as he walked in, glancing around the floor and scowling slightly at the mess it was in, "I said _clean_ the stables, not have a family get-together in the stables."

"I am cleaning the Stables, sir," Eren said, raising the brush and bucket in his hand for Levi to see.

"And yet the stables aren't clean," Levi shook his head, "Are you good for anything, brat? Do you realize the fate of humanity rests on your shoulders?"

"I didn't know that the secret to humanity's salvation lies in figuring out how to remove a stain, sir," Eren said, immediately regretting the words as soon as they made their way out of his mouth. Before he could blink, Levi had him pinned against the wall, his elbow digging into Eren's neck.

"Are you trying to be funny, Jaeger?"

"I-" Eren had no idea how to respond, his eyes met Levi's as the Corporal managed to reduce Eren to his height, and suddenly he was very much aware of how close Levi's face was to his. He could almost feel Levi's breath on his own lips-

Something moved, Mikasa! Eren had forgotten that she was standing there, and the look in her eyes indicated she was about to do more than just standing there.

"Mikasa! Don't!"

Levi glanced at Mikasa out of the corner of his eyes then, before stepping away from Eren, causing him to lose his balance and almost drop for a moment.

"I don't have time for this," Levi said, "Finish cleaning up the stables, then you can deal with sorting out my squad's maneuver gear."

He didn't glance back as he made his way out of the stables, gone before Eren had the chance to blink.

* * *

It wasn't exactly difficult to notice why Levi was held in such high retrospect. His inexplicable ability to take down Titans was of course the main reason why, but that wasn't the only thing that distinguished him.

No, definitely not.

Aside from being a clean freak to a nearly intolerable level, Levi had that look to him. It wasn't simply a look of authority, no, it was that warrior's look. You can't miss it if you look into his eyes, past the indifferent stare, you can see all that he has seen. You can see his determination to keep going despite seeing so many of his comrades get eaten, and you can see his determination to live on to honor their sacrifices.

"Eren? Are you even here?"

Eren blinked slightly as a hand blurred right before his eyes, attempting to draw his attention. He hadn't realized he was staring at Levi from across the dining hall, and his cheeks started feeling a little warm when he noted that all eyes were on him. Armin looked genuinely concerned as he continued to wave his hand before Eren's eyes for God knows how long, Mikasa had that weird look of hers that Eren could never understand, Connie raised an eyebrow, Sasha was too busy trying to savor the last of her bread and scouring the table for leftovers, and Jean scowled.

Then again, Jean was always scowling in one form or another.

"What?" Eren snapped, "What are you all looking at?"

Jean shook his head then, yanking his plate away and getting up with the scowl never leaving his face. He turned around and dropped the dish off at the sinks before exiting the room.

"What's with him?" Sasha asked around her mouthful, her eyebrows knotting together in confusion as she noted that everyone was still staring at Eren seemingly ignoring that Jean just up and left, "What did I miss?"

"Eren was staring off into space silently for the past half hour," Connie said.

"He didn't say a single word," Reiner added, slightly startling Eren as he came up from behind him then took Jean's place. When the hell did he get here?

"Eren, are you okay?" Armin asked, the genuine concern on his face mirrored in his tone.

"I-Of course I am!" They still didn't drop their glances, and Eren felt more heat flood into his cheeks.

"What were you looking at?" Sasha asked as she wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her jacket.

"I-Nothing! Nothing, okay?! Drop it!" He stood up hastily, almost knocking his chair back.

"Where are you going?" Armin looked at him, as Mikasa stood up as well.

"I have things to do," Eren said, trying to mask the shakiness in his tone, "Alone." With that, he turned and rushed out the hall without a second glance.

"Does that mean he won't eat his bread?" Sasha raised her eyebrow, and Mikasa rolled her eyes before passing the plate over to her and sitting back down, sighing almost unnoticeably as she watched Eren slam the hall's doors behind him.

* * *

Eren pulled up the hood of his green cape as he felt a couple of water droplets skate down his nose. It wasn't that much of a surprise, barely any sunlight had made it through the clouds that day. In fact, Eren had expected a full blown out storm, so a little rain was nothing more than a lovely gesture from above to him. He leaned against the exterior wall of the stables, looking up at the sky and watching as more water droplets huddled together as they face the inevitable impact with the concrete. Armin talked about this before, he remembered. He explained to him how the clouds form and why the rain falls, but Eren never really listened to the details. He was too busy watching the rain fall onto the lake then, and thinking of how happy that rain must be to find a safe place to land. A place where it could fit in and feel safe. Armin talked about freedom after his scientific explanation, about how he would've loved to be as free as those rain drops, just flying through the air.

But he didn't quite understand just how much the rain was a prisoner to nature. For all its greatness and might, for all its usefulness and importance, the clouds just expel it. Sure it's needed, but the rain is too much of a hassle to be kept around forever, and it surely didn't belong up there within the clouds. And so when its usefulness expires, the clouds push it over the edge to face its demise on earth. Because it has fulfilled its purpose, which is the only reason the rain was ever tolerated and allowed to stick around in the sky for that long, really.

Movement cut Eren's line of thought short as he stood up straight, suddenly feeling that he wasn't alone. His hand hovered over his blades as he scanned the area around him.

"What are you doing?" Eren jerked his head to the side, and breathed out seeing it was Jean. He dropped his arms to his sides again, and leaned back.

"Just taking a walk," Eren said with a shrug, "What are you doing out here?"

Jean looked at him, then at his own hands.

"Same."

Eren glanced at him, a confused look overtook his features, "Jean, are you alright-"

"Just tell him," Jean cut him off, his gaze still fixed on his hands.

"What? What are you talking about?" Eren asked, his eyes widening as he felt the tip of his ears warm up with no clue why they did.

"I'm not an idiot, Eren, I've seen the way you look at him," Jean said, "Watching him from across the halls, looking at him a moment too long when he passes by, doing all these things that he asks you to do."

"I-Who are you-What-" Eren's entire face reddened, cheeks and ears and all.

Jean looked at him, the corner of his lip pulled up a bit in a sort of smile, "The Corporal, Levi."

Eren felt as if his face would combust into flames at any given moment, he shook his head hastily. "What? No-I only-Just-It's because-I only follow his orders really, I mean-And that-You know-It's-"

Jean rose up his hand to stop him, looking away from him and towards his other hand.

"You never know when," Jean took a deep breath, and Eren noted that his shoulders were slightly shaking, "When someone will come up to you and ask you to identify him in a pile of dead bodies." He closed his hand into a fist then, "Then all those nights you've spent thinking about him wouldn't matter anymore."

Jean stepped away then, shoving his hands into his pockets and turning around as he began to walk away from Eren.

"So tell him. Find a way to tell him."


	2. Chapter 2

**_Part 2_**

Eren struggles to put the emotions he doesn't understand into words, but these

confusing emotions may be put to the test sooner than he thought.

* * *

_Eren!_

_Eren you need to follow me now!_

_You can't save him!_

_Eren his gear broke there's nothing we can do now!_

_The Titans are coming we need to get you to safety! _

_You matter most Eren!_

_Shouts erupted all around Eren, seemingly coming from every possible direction under the sun. He closed his eyes, trying to tune them out as he turned around to make his way to Levi. Something tightened around his arms, and he found himself being yanked back. Eren reached for the trigger connected to his blades, but his arms were intertwined behind his back, forcing his hands together. He struggled in his captor's grasp, but to no avail. The strain he felt in his muscles confirmed that not only one person was holding him back. _

_And that's when he heard it, the loudest scream he has ever heard, a scream that pierced through the air unparalleled by any other shout. His own scream. _

_Because Levi was just grabbed by that aberrant Titan that found its way into the formation. And Levi wasn't going down without a fight. _

_But Levi was going down nonetheless. _

Another scream shook Eren's skull as he bolted upright. He identified it a second later as also being his own, and he glanced around, his eyes darting furiously as he scanned every inch in his room.

His room.

He was in the dungeon where he's supposed to sleep, and he was sitting in his own bed. Eren pushed aside the sheets, struggling to untangle them and get up. His body felt as if it was radiating heat, sticking his shirt to his back with sweat. He walked over to the broken sink across the dungeon, hoping it still held a bit of life in it, even a couple of drops. Beat after beat raced within his chest, as if his heart was trying to outrun itself. Disoriented, he leaned against the broken sink, yanking at the faucet until a small stream of water began to fall over his face.

Just a nightmare? Then how come the water against his skin felt less real than what he had just witnessed? A shudder went through him as the images he saw in his sleep replayed within his mind. Levi, he lost Levi. He lost Levi without ever getting to talk to him alone. He lost Levi without telling him what he felt.

What he felt.

What _exactly_ did he feel? Eren ran his hand through his hair as he stood back up, walking away from the bed and towards the door. Maybe if he just got to be with Levi. Maybe if he just got a chance to talk to the Corporal without anyone else around. Maybe he could figure out what to say. Maybe.

Eren glanced up at the small barred opening at the very top corner of the left wall, the only place in this dungeon that permitted air. It was dark outside, and since no one had heard him scream, which meant everyone is deep asleep.

_Or no one gives a flying fuck, that too._

The perfect opportunity is presenting itself. Jean had told him to find a way two days ago, and it looked as if the way just found him. Eren checked his cell's door and found it open as he suspected, no one bothered to keep him under lock and chain anymore. The rusty iron bars creaked as Eren stepped outside. This was it, he was going to make his way up those stairs, turn left, make his way up another set of stairs, and find the Lance Corporal's room.

Then what?

Eren froze midway in the hall that led towards the stairs, his feet suddenly feeling ten times heavier than they were a second ago. He looked at his own hands, still human. Then why did he feel as if he was carrying the weight of a 15 meter class?

Truth was, he had no idea what he would say to Levi. He had no idea if Levi would even listen to him. What if he dismissed him? What if he yelled at him or punched him or worse, just ignored him completely? This was the Corporal after all, what was Eren thinking?

He found himself leaning against the wall, and slowly sliding down till he was sitting on the brick floor with his head leaned back. It was foolish of him to think of knocking on the Corporal's door at this time.

Maybe it was foolish of him to think of knocking on the Corporal's door at all.

* * *

"You little shit."

Eren stirred, groaning as a sharp pain shot up his spine. He rubbed his eyes, half-opening them then closing them again as a strong light hit them. He attempted to open his eyes slower this time, and his heart skipped a beat at what he saw. The Corporal stood before him, his arms crossed over his chest, his expression, as always, neutral.

"I'm not even sure I want to ask," Levi said, tilting his head slightly to the side as Eren hastily got off the floor, scrubbing the dirt off of his shirt and standing straight.

"Sir, I-"

"You were trying to sneak away and knocked yourself out," Levi said, dropping his arms to his sides, "It's the only explanation I can bother to come up with right now as to why you're asleep in the middle of the hall."

"Sneak away? No! Of course not! I wouldn't-"

"Have you been drinking, Eren?" Levi leaned closer to Eren, searching him for any sign of alcohol, and Eren felt his heart begin to hammer in his chest.

"No! NO! I haven't! Where would I even get access to alcohol around here?! I haven't!"

Levi sighed, "Lower your damn voice," he said, "If someone found out you didn't spend the night in your cell they'll have you chained up at nights again."

Eren stared at Levi for a split-second, did that mean he was actually going to _cover_ up for him?

"Y-Yes, sir, sorry."

He watched as Levi entered his cell, his eyes seizing up the place and surveying it. Levi scowled at the sheets strewn across the floor, kicking them aside towards the bed and walking towards the sink. A puddle of mud was now formed inside it as a result of Eren using the water.

"What's this?" Levi asked, not turning to check if Eren was even beside him and causing Eren to snap out of his daze and run into his cell.

Levi glanced at him out of the corner of his eyes, "Well?"

"Uh, what's what?" Eren creased his eyebrows together, "I don't follow, sir."

"Of course you don't," Levi grabbed Eren by the collar of his shirt, and forced his head down so his nose was only an inch away from the puddle of mud, "Again, what's _this_?"

"That's mud sir," Eren muttered, trying to keep his mouth as away from it as possible when he spoke.

"Genius, aren't you Jaeger?" Levi let go of him then, and Eren's face fell into the mud.

"Hopeless, utterly and completely miserable," Levi said, shaking his head and turning to walk out of the cell.

"L-Sir, wait," Eren muttered, spitting out a piece of mud, and wiping the rest with the towel that hung by the sink.

Levi had paused by the cell doors, but didn't turn around to face Eren, "Yes?"

_What are you doing, Eren? You're not seriously considering this, not now, not while you look like this, not here-_

"I have something to tell you, sir," Eren started, swallowing back as he could feel the force of his heartbeats at the base of his neck.

"Some of us don't have all day," Levi said, impatience leaking through his tone, still facing the other way.

"I-"

A high-pitched noise sounded through the dungeon, followed by raised voices and loud feet movement. Before Eren could register the noise, Levi was already racing up the stairs. Eren soon followed, struggling to understand what the hell just happened.

"Levi!" Hanji was standing at the top of the stairs, "Petra and a few others went on patrol an hour ago, they just fired a red-smoke round."

* * *

"This way!" Commander Irvin yelled at his Legion squad to follow after him as they rode away from the castle. Eren fidgeted with the reins as he guided the horse forward, his eyes struggling to maintain a balance between looking on the road and glancing at Levi. That is, until Levi was out of his sight.

The Commander assigned three squads to surround the area from where the smoke round was fired, and move in onto the titans to help their comrades. Levi and Mikasa, being the two most skilled soldiers at the headquarters, were assigned to different squads. And Eren was to fall under Irvin's responsibility on this mission, as Levi needed his full concentration, and Eren was also important to keep all three squads at an advantage. He knew how to fight after all, and if push came to shove, he could take the titans one-on-one.

Eren focused on the road ahead in time to avoid a group of rocks gathered before his horse's feet. His sudden sharp turn earned him a split-second gaze from Irvin, to which he responded by muttering sorry and glancing down. Their riding speed increased as they closed in onto the place the patrol was, and the first titan was within sight.

It was a 4 meter class; the second one they could spot was a 7-meter class. Something was off; these hardly seemed like a challenge for a Recon Corps patrol. Eren beckoned his horse to advance faster as he approached the clearing, and his eyes widened the moment he made it past the surrounding trees.

Four aberrants!

He's seen the freak Titans before, but never in a pack. Never together at the same time like this. They were on all fours, surrounding the patrol, the only thing coming between them and his fellow Recon Corps members is the constant slashes his soldiers kept taking at the titans, though none of them were able to reach their weak spots, and they didn't seem to be slowing them down that much either.

This situation could end a lot faster if Eren could transform, he'd be a block between the freaks and the soldiers, and he can step on all their heads if he has to. It was a challenge, but nothing he couldn't achieve.

"NO!" Hanji grabbed Eren's wrist when she saw him starting to raise it to his mouth, "We can't risk this here, we don't know the extent of your power."

"But I can fight them better like that! I can save Petra and the others!"

"Listen to her," Irvin said, glancing back at them, "This is too big of a risk, Eren, just stay behind us and use your 3D maneuver gear. Avoid direct contact with the Titans, we'll handle it."

Irvin and Hanji then charged into the clearing, their triggers pulled and they were in the air in a moment, spinning and using the trees as leverage to jump on the back of the four-legged titans.

All across the clearing, the other squads followed their lead, and Eren could spot Mikasa from the distance, but the soldiers moved in too fast of a blur to allow him to see Levi.

Avoid contact. He's not a coward or a child to avoid contact.

Eren pulled the trigger on his blade and launched into the air, using a tree branch to kick off higher and planting the hook of his gear at the back of the 7-meter class's head. He adjusted his weight as the ropes pulled him up and swiped his blades across the titan's neck, cutting a huge chunk of its flesh and jumping off to fall on top of the nearest tree before the titan's body crashed into the ground.

He looked around, titan after titan followed in the footsteps of the one he just killed, falling flat on their faces. Eren smiled then, breathing a slight sigh of relief.

Before his breath caught.

More titans were approaching, and they were approaching fast. Damn it. What was attracting the bastards? It couldn't have been him, could it? Eren shook his head and made his way down the tree as he saw his fellow comrades retreating.

"Eren! There are too much of them!" Hanji screamed as Eren landed on the floor and mounted his horse, "We're going back."

His eyes scanned the chaos for Levi, but there was no sign of him as the Recon Corps rode away from the site of battle, speeding up to get away from the titans then splitting into different groups so as not to lead them straight to the HQ.

"Where's Levi?!" Eren shouted over the noise, not caring for the time being that anyone might find his inquiry odd.

Hanji jerked her head back, "I-I don't see him-"

"There he is!"

Eren followed Reiner's gaze and his eyes landed on Levi, a good distance away from them, and he wasn't moving. He was fidgeting with the belts, why was he fidgeting with the belts? Why wasn't he using the maneuver gear to get away from there? Where's his horse?

"His equipment must have broken!" Reiner said, tugging on Eren's arm, "Come on, we don't have time to go back and get him, we need to get YOU out of here!"

"Are you all mad? That's the Corporal!" Eren shouted, heat flooding to his face as his chest began to constrict.

Hanji saw Eren's hand hover over to the blades, "No! Restrain him!"

Reiner was upon Eren's horse in a second, twisting one of his arm behind his back, "We can't afford to lose you," Hanji said, tears beginning to fill up her eyes, clouding her glasses, "There's no way we can go back to him without all of us getting killed in the process."

"And you're leaving him there! We don't leave any soldiers behind!" Eren's shouts were becoming increasingly frantic as he squirmed in Reiner's hold.

"There's nothing we can-" He couldn't hear the rest of her words, he couldn't hear anything. There was only a distinct buzzing in his ear and the sight of Levi as he pulled the trigger on his gear time after time, getting no response.

Just like in his nightmare.

But he wasn't about to let that happen.

Eren closed his eyes, and shoved both his elbows into Reiner's chest at the same time with all the force he could muster, causing Reiner to loosen his grasp on Eren as the pain hit him. Eren used the momentary distraction to pull the trigger on his gear and aimed the ropes to the farthest tree in sight, before kicking off his horse's back and soaring across the titan corpses.

"EREN JAEGER!" A shout came from behind him, and Eren moved faster. Something grabbed his arm, no, someone. He didn't look at the face, just ducked aside, kicking them in the knee in the process. All noise around him was tuned out as he used another tree to get to where Levi was standing.

_Crack! _

The branch broke, and Eren tripped on the falling ropes, skidding across the ground till his body crashed into a tree. He coughed, tasting the metallic sour flavor of blood in his mouth.

A thrashing noise erupted and Eren looked up to find Levi. He was slashing his blade at the titan that lowered its hand to grab him, before rolling from underneath the titan's hold mere seconds before its hand could smash him to the ground.

Eren made to move, but the titan made his move first. It swiped at Levi again, this time the back of its injured palm smacked into him. The force of the impact threw Levi fifteen feet back and straight into the edge of a boulder.

Levi's body crashed against the boulder with a loud shattering sound; then left a trail of blood behind it as it hit the ground, utterly still.


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3

_Eren is forced to make a decision _

_with unpredictable consequences._

* * *

No.

Was he the one who yelled it? Did someone even yell or was it just a figment of his imagination? Eren's eyes darted around, but there was no one in sight.

In fact, there was virtually nothing in sight.

There was nothing but blue within his range of vision, blue skies and a few scattered grayish clouds. He looked down, and his eyes widened. The trees he used earlier to move across the clearing now barely reached to his mid-thigh.

He had transformed into a titan. But how did that happen? When did that happen? What _was _happening?

Before he had time to further contemplate the subject, Eren felt something grab his shoulder. A 10-meter class had its hand tightened around Eren's shoulder and was about to bite his neck, but Eren was faster. He grabbed the titan by its frizzy long brown hair, and bit off a huge chunk of flesh off of its neck. The titan cried out before its body crashed onto the trees, its body disappearing in the fog of steam it was producing.

Eren scanned the area quickly, another titan catching his eye. This one was approaching a smaller figure on the ground that was lying limp, reaching out to grab it.

No. Reaching out to grab him.

To grab Levi.

_Not a chance in hell._

Eren threw his head back and yelled out, what he intended to be a sort of scream to attract the titan's attention was deeper and louder than it was supposed to be, coming out as a blood-curdling roar. He couldn't believe that sound just came out of him, but this wasn't the time to worry about, because the titan was now looking at him.

It was one of the aberrants that walked on all fours, and it came rushing at Eren. He raised his foot up and brought it crashing down on the abberant's neck, splitting its head from its body and crushing the skull into pieces as he stepped on it repeatedly. It was odd, he could see the titan's blood stain his foot, but he couldn't feel it. He might have been crushing a cockroach for all his body was registering.

But this felt a hundred percent more powerful than crushing a cockroach.

His attention was turned to Levi once the titan was eliminated. He had to get to Levi and take him back to the HQ. Eren crouched down onto his knees to pick Levi's body up, and his hand was shaking as he reached out for him. Levi wasn't moving, and he looked much paler than Eren remembered. He narrowed his eyes slightly as leaned his face closer to get a better look, and he could almost swear Levi's lips have taken on a bluish hue.

Stop. Levi was alive, Levi had to be alive. There was no way that Eren could manage to check Levi's pulse or breathing in the state he was in right now, but Levi couldn't be anything but alive. It wasn't an option Eren could consider and he refused to consider it. He picked Levi up in his palm, the blades from Levi's maneuver gear were dangling down from between Eren's fingers, and Levi still hadn't moved as much as an inch.

Eren stood up straight and turned to find the path shortest to the HQ, and he was greeted by six incoming 7-meter classes, rushing to get to him. They weren't as fast as the aberrants, but they would still reach him within minutes if he didn't start moving.

But then what? If he ran straight back to the HQ, they would be on his tail, and he would be putting the entire Survey Legion in danger. If he attempted to fight them, one of them could lash out at the arm he was holding Levi with, besides the fact that he couldn't fight off six titans with only one arm while making sure Levi doesn't fall. If he ran away to any other direction, they would lose precious time.

Time that Levi might not have at this point.

Where was the rest of the squad? Eren looked around, he could hear the noises of clashing blades within the clusters of trees but their shades prevented him from getting a good look. Maybe he could search for someone to hand Levi to, but how safe could that be? They might be ambushed on the way back to the HQ. He began moving in a random direction as the titans closed in, he needed to assume all these facts and make a quick decision.

Armin.

Armin was the one with the power of deduction, he would figure something out. Yes! He just needed to find Armin and bring Levi to him, Armin would know what to do.

Except for the minor detail that Armin wasn't part of the Special Operations squad. Which meant that Armin was still in the HQ.

_"God damn it!_"

The curse words came out from Eren's titan body in the form of a shout, louder than the one he screamed out earlier. Straight ahead of him, a couple of 4-meter class titans turned their heads as they heard him, and immediately started making their way towards him.

The only way out of being surrounded by titans was to take the path that led straight to the HQ, and Eren's decision was made for him. He starting running with the maximum speed he could muster while hanging onto Levi's body, careful not to accidentally tighten his hold and break Levi's bones.

The patrol.

How could Eren forget? There was always a patrol around the area surrounding the HQ. If Eren could make it to them, he would drop Levi's body off there then lead the titans the other way. They would most likely follow him then. But what if they didn't? What if they charged straight into the HQ?

Eren gritted his teeth together, there was no more room for thought. This was the best plan he could come up with, and he would stick to it. He ran even faster as he passed through the circle of trees that marked the beginning of the patrol's territory. Sure enough, he spotted a group of soldiers. Only four of them, but that was more than he could ask for. They jumped off the ground the minute they saw him rushing, taking out the blades, then freezing as they saw a body in his hand. Eren came to a sudden stop, producing a cloud of dust at his feet before he crouched down again, setting Levi's body infront of the puzzled soldiers.

Two of the titans broke out through the circle of the trees behind him, and he was up and running again. He glanced behind out of the corner of his eyes to find that they were still on his trail, and he let out a sigh of relief before charging into the next cluster of trees, ducking down once he was within the trees and making his way through them.

He ran restlessly for around half an hour, ducking between tree clusters and taking sharp turns, managing to lose the titans. The soldiers must've taken out some of them, because their numbers were much more decreased than when they first spotted him.

_Or they could've made their way back to the HQ._

Eren rejected the thought as soon as his mind conjured it up, no. The Recon Corps were the finest of humanity, and they could take on a few titans. They also knew a good deal about healing wounds, and they probably have Levi fixed up by now. He's probably okay by now. He has to be okay by now.

And so is Armin, probably coming up with a way to help Levi back on his feet. And so is Mikasa, probably waiting for him to come back.

A sudden sensation of pain stopped Eren's thoughts and made him freeze, he glanced down at his sides to see that the flesh was peeling off, the fabric of his skin splitting and revealing his hip bones. He furrowed his eyebrows together before falling to his feet, noting that the flesh at his ankles was beginning to tear as well. Black spots began to creep into his vision, and he felt a sharp stinging in his neck, right before everything went dark.

* * *

"..He's still out cold.."

"I just don't get how anyone would be that stupid.."

"Jean! Just shut up, okay? Not now, not here."

"..It's not like he can hear me.."

"Stop being a prick!"

Voices. But they didn't make any sense to Eren as they went through his ear. What were they on about? Who were they? He couldn't identify any of the sounds at first. Maybe he would have better like with sight than hearing, Eren thought, opening his eyes.

But the lids wouldn't budge.

He never realized that opening one's eyes would take effort; it was an automatic gesture, like breathing. Your body was supposed to take care of that for you. His body however seemed to have forgotten that notion; and the lids felt like they would only open if he manually lifted them up with his hands.

"..Did he just move?"

"Eren!"

Eren sensed the beginning of an ache in his head, and he groaned. What was going on? Why did he feel that way? He could feel pins and needles spreading across his arms and legs, rendering the simple movement of closing his hand into a fist way more painful than he remembered it to be.

"Eren? Can you hear us?"

He tried to open his eyes again, and he could barely make out Mikasa's features through his blurred vision. Directly beside it, was Armin's face with his eyebrows pulled tight together, his eyes fixed on Eren's. Eren's muscles relaxed for a moment, if both Mikasa and Armin were here then how bad could it be?

"W-What happened?" He coughed, which felt like scrapping sand paper against his throat.

"He doesn't remember?" A voice came from across the room and Eren blinked, trying to focus his eyesight in the direction of that voice.

Jean.

He stood there with his arms crossed over his chest, leaning against the door frame. What was Jean doing there?

Come to think about it. Where exactly _was_ there?

Eren looked up and his gaze fell on the cracked brick ceiling, then the half-rusted iron bars at the top corner of the room. Where was he? He glanced back at Mikasa and Armin, his expression a mixture of confusion and a bad attempt to hide the growing ache in his head.

He looked at Jean again; something began to budge in his memory. The last time he'd seen Jean was when they were riding away from the HQ. He'd looked at him before they split ways, Jean taking the left while Eren rode straight ahead. Why were they riding out?

Because of the patrol.

Images of trees and bloodied blades flashed through his mind, one after another with an intense speed that allowed him to catch only glimpses before they slipped away again due to the intensity of his headache. Only one memory stood out.

_Levi. _

"Levi!" He suddenly sat up straight, ignoring the pain that travelled up his veins as soon as he moved, and made to get out of bed before Armin stopped him.

"No, you need rest, you can't move."

"What happened to Levi?"

Mikasa looked away then, sitting back in the chair by the bed to avoid being in Eren's direct line of vision.

Eren blinked at her reaction, before looking at Armin, "Where is he, Armin?"

Armin put his hand on Eren's shoulder, pursing his lips together for a moment then sighing.

"Dislocated shoulder, three broken ribs, and a good bunch of bruises and cuts. But he's humanity's strongest, Eren, he's alive."

Eren breathed out, closing his eyes for a second as his heart slowed down. He did it, he made it. He managed to get Levi out of there, although he wasn't exactly sure what happened. He had no memory of biting himself to turn into a titan, but that was probably how he made it out alive.

He looked up at Armin, who was still staring at him, the look of concern too familiar for Eren.

"I-What about Petra? And the others?" he asked. There was probably no point in trying to act casually and pretend he was equally concerned for everyone, not just Levi, but it wouldn't hurt.

Mikasa looked up then, scooting forward in her chair, "Petra is alive, but unconscious." She looked him in the eyes then, "We lost six soldiers, Eren."

Eren's lips parted slightly as he looked at her, "Did the titans make it here-"

"No they didn't," Jean cut him off, detaching himself from the wall and stretching his arms behind his head, "No thanks to your stupidity in leading them, though."

"Jean!" Armin shot him a look then, and Jean simply shrugged.

"Our squad caught up with the remaining titans, cutting them off," Mikasa continued, "But the patrol, the one you gave the Corporal to, only one of them survived."

"I didn't-I wasn't-I thought-" Eren struggled to find the words, but Armin stopped him.

"You're okay now, that's what matters, alright?" he said, "You can't stay awake, anyways, Hanji said that you need plenty of rest-"

"I also said that you lot stay out of his room so you don't disturb him."

Eren glanced at the door, and saw Hanji standing there, holding a notebook to her chest. She smiled when he looked at her, "How are you feeling, Eren?"

"I-I'm fine," he said, though he was nowhere near fine. These people. He only intended to entrust them with Levi's life, not to get them killed. They weren't supposed to die. How could he have not thought this through? What was happening in his head? Eren shut his eyes tightly as the headache intensified, nothing was making sense.

"You need rest, Eren, you've been through a lot," Hanji said, "Sleep, and we'll talk about all of this in the morning."

She turned to leave before pausing and glancing back, "And all of you," she stopped, raising an eyebrow and tilting her head to the side as she looked at Eren.

"..All of us?" Jean asked, "All of us what, Hanji?"

She shook her head, "Oh, right, all of you, out of here."

Jean turned right after her without glancing back and walked out of the room. Armin looked at Eren and smiled, "We'll be back in the morning, okay? Hang in there, you'll be okay, you are okay, it wasn't your fault, okay?" He was speaking too fast, and Eren could see through his smile to the strain it took him to maintain it.

He nodded and Armin turned to leave, walking out the door just as Mikasa stood up. "I'll be outside," she said as she made her way to the door, "If you need anything."

"You don't have to-" Eren was about to tell her to get some sleep as well when she interrupted his words.

"All night."

"What?"

"He was here all night," she said, and Eren couldn't recognize her tone, he'd never heard her sound quite like that before. "He left around an hour before you woke up because Hanji insisted he gets some sleep, but he was here. Next to your bed. All night."

With that, she left.

* * *

The candle in Jean's hand flickered as he walked down the hall, a towel hanging on his head as he made his way to the bathroom. It was worth staying up till after midnight if it meant he could get to shower when the bathroom wasn't occupied. The people around here needed a serious lesson in personal space.

There was a light at the end of the hall, and he raised an eyebrow, making his way towards it. He peeked into the room to find a large desk, and behind it sat Hanji. Her hair was a little messy and it fell down on her shoulders as she ran both her hands through it, her eyes fixed on a piece of paper.

"Is everything okay?"

Hanji jumped back, then sighed when she saw Jean. "Why are you still up?"

Jean shrugged, "I could ask you the same thing," he said, still standing by the door.

Hanji sighed again before returning her attention to the papers, biting her lip as her eyes scanned the scribbled drawings and their labels.

"Remember the court day?" Hanji asked, twisting a pencil around in her hand, "When Levi hit Eren, his tooth flew out. Not ten minutes later, another tooth was grown back in its place."

Jean leaned against the frame, "And? We already knew titans can do that. Isn't he half-titan or something?"

Hanji looked up at him, and Jean wasn't sure he'd ever seen her expression that serious before. "When we found Eren this morning, the skin between his wrist and his elbow was completely scrapped off."

Jean nodded, "I know, I found him."

"It didn't regenerate."


	4. Chapter 4

**Part 4:**

_Eren faces an unexpected consequence to his actions that leads_

_him to question the fate of his feelings._

* * *

Eren wrapped his arm around the pillow, shoving it under his head as he stirred. He couldn't find it in him to stay asleep for more than three hours straight in this pathetic excuse of a bed.

Not to mention the weather.

Ever since he arrived at the dungeon, Eren had had no problems at all with the cold, he didn't feel it, and some nights he didn't even need the blanket. Ever since last night, on the other hand, he has been freezing. He pulled the covers over him so that they reached up to just right below his nose, trying to coax himself into falling back asleep, or rather convince himself that he was already asleep.

However, the temptation to open his eyes got the best of him, and he turned to his left before deciding to steal a glance at his surroundings.

Only to be met by a pair of narrow and focused eyes staring straight into his.

Eren immediately jerked back, holding the pillow to him as his heart did a jump in his chest. And the hopes of it steadying again were all gone after he recognized the face before him.

"Lev-Sir?" Eren's voice was a little heavy with sleep, and he cleared his throat, "Um, what, what are you-"

Levi was sitting on the chair by Eren's bed, which Eren was sure was positioned further than that when Mikasa sat on it earlier. His hair was neatly brushed as always, but instead of the usual uniform and cravate, he was wearing a somehow loose white shirt. The ropes at the collar were tied and there was a brown belt wrapped over the shirt right below his waist. The cast that covered his right shoulder and went around his chest was visible beneath the thin material of the white shirt, and Eren forced himself to look up before his gaze strayed too much.

Bruises dotted Levi's left arm, starting from his wrist and disappearing beneath the rolled up sleeve of the shirt. Eren felt a tug in his chest. A part of him hurt at seeing Levi like this despite the fact that Levi held himself as if he wasn't in an even minimalistic amount of pain.

"Did the titan steam fry your brain, Jaeger?" Levi asked, bringing Eren out of his reverie.

Eren blinked, trying to register Levi's words, "What?"

Levi's expression didn't change. His eyes remained fixed on Eren, distracting Eren from forming a rational line of thoughts.

"I asked, did the titan steam fry your brain," he said, his fingers tapping unconsciously on his left knee, "Because that would be the only acceptable excuse for what you did."

"What I did?" Eren's expression grew more confused, his eyebrows were pulled together and his gaze became more intense.

"Oh right, they said you didn't remember," Levi said, he was speaking in a usual monotone, but Eren felt that there was an undercurrent to his words.

"Allow me to refresh your memory. You disobeyed a direct order from a superior officer, you hit not one but _two_ soldiers that tried to prevent you from disobeying that order, you turned into a titan without permission from the commander, and you led the titans up the path to the Headquarters."

Eren didn't break eye contact with Levi, but he didn't say a word either. What was with that tone? Usually it was hard to read Levi's demeanor, but it was clear that Levi wasn't very pleased at the moment.

"Do you deny any of these things?" Levi asked when Eren didn't reply, raising an eyebrow at him, "Did you not do all of that?"

"I don't deny anything but-"

"But what?" Levi asked, a spark of anger showed in his eyes as his tone became louder, "Four men were lost due to your irresponsibility. That is four men who lived and breathed and ate and trained and had lives and families and were _not_ meant to die yesterday _Eren._"

Eren's jaw dropped in surprise to Levi's outburst, he moved his mouth to say something, but no words were coming out until he cleared his throat again.

"I-I didn't want anyone to die," he said, "You know that I wouldn't mean to-"

"Your intentions don't matter," Levi cut him off for the second time, his voice sounding sharper, "What matters is the outcome of your actions."

"The outcome?" Eren asked, his voice was incredulous, "It was the only way I could get you to safety! Why the hell are you talking to me about outcome?!"

"I didn't ask you to get me to safety," Levi said, his tone now lowered but still sharp.

"No, you _didn't_," Eren spat back at him, his voice continuing to rise, "Because you were unconscious and dying!"

"Then you should have left me to die there and returned."

"Are you serious? Are you really blaming _me_ for saving your_ life_?"

"One life isn't worth sacrificing another," Levi said, looking away from Eren and fixing his gaze on the floor.

"You should be saying those words to Hanji and Reiner. Because they were ready to leave you behind to get me out of there, and I didn't think my life was worth sacrificing yours."

"You're different, Eren, you're an asset to humanity. I may know how to fight, but I'm simply a human being."

Eren met his gaze then, feeling as if Levi just delivered a blow to his stomach. "I'm a human being too, Levi."

Levi raised an eyebrow at him once more, "We both know that's not true," he said, "You have the ability to become one of them and fight them, that's not human."

The air around Eren suddenly felt clouded, and breathing became just a little bit more difficult. "Is that how you really think? You just wanted them to save me because I have some strategic value to humanity?"

"We're soldiers in a war, Eren," Levi said, his gaze trailing away from Eren's, "We have to think of the general best interest, it's the only way to think."

"There's no such thing as an only way," Eren muttered under his breath, his voice barely audible as his throat constricted.

"What was that?" Levi leaned forward slightly, looking back at Eren.

Eren shook his head, "Uh," he looked down at his hand, clenched around the sheets in a fist, "Is that all? Because Hanji said I'm supposed to rest."

Levi was taken aback for a second, his eyes widening only a fraction. He then stood up, and headed towards the door. Eren noted there was a slight limp in his walk as Levi stepped outside, letting the door close behind him.

* * *

_Ignorant brat._

Levi walked down the hall, his eyes narrowed even more than usual. What was Jaeger on about? He shook his head, pausing every once in a while to take a deep breath. It was all that he could do not to punch every single brick within his reach.

Was he not right about all the things he said? Eren had put people's life on the line just to follow his own instincts, disobeying orders and disregarding all common sense. What did he want from him? A thank you for saving his life? Could Eren not understand that the very idea of something like that is a betrayal to the memory of those who died just so he can live? That boy knew nothing about war, and nothing about the honor of being a soldier as well.

The very air Levi was breathing in and exhaling out felt like it didn't belong to him, which made him angry because he wasn't one to accept things that weren't his. And what was with the air, anyway? Why was it so clammy? Why did everything in this forsaken place smell of dust and decay?

Levi closed his eyes, pausing again when he reached the staircase. What was he really supposed to say to Eren? He couldn't just act like nothing happened.

_But Eren never looked that shocked, not even when I started beating him up in the middle of court more than a month ago_.

Levi scowled. It wasn't his fault that the boy was surprised at his reaction. What did he expect? Candles and cake? He just broke over ten army codes! It was Levi's responsibility to keep him in check! Levi wasn't supposed to blatantly cast something that major aside just because Eren was the reason he was still alive.

_But that doesn't change the fact that Eren __**is**__ the reason I'm still alive. _

Levi opened his eyes again, now wasn't the time to be thinking things like that over. Eren Jaeger was safe and will soon be well enough to resume his part, more pressing matters needed Levi's attention. Irvin had asked him to come to his office once he woke up to discuss the new formation plan, but Levi had decided to check on Eren first. And for some reason checking up on Eren turned into sitting by his side for two hours.

The stairs creaked when Levi reached the last step, and he had half a mind to kick the wooden planks in until they are reduced to microscopic little pieces. Then again, cleaning that up would require more effort than the relief its destruction would bring.

Voices reached his ears and Levi looked ahead, seeing that the door of Irvin's office was half-opened. That was odd; normally he never lets anyone into his office this early in the morning except Levi. The voices began to become a little clearer as Levi approached the office. He paused right before the entrance, stepping into the shade cast by the wall and leaning his ear against it while making sure his skin doesn't actually come in contact with the wall.

"..What are you exactly saying?"

Levi instantly recognized Irvin's voice as well as the slight hesitation in his tone when he spoke, something was off.

"I'm saying, that his wounds aren't closing," this time it was a female voice, a voice that Levi would also recognize anywhere, Hanji's. "And that's not all."

There was a brief pause, before a third voice joined them. "When I found him, sir, the titan corpse he had climbed out from was still intact. But the flesh looked, damaged. As if it was torn through with a blade."

Who was that? The voice didn't ring any bells in Levi's memory.

"But that can't be possible; we know that the titans have the ability to regenerate their injuries almost immediately after they're inflicted." Irvin sounded exasperated; Levi knew he wasn't getting much sleep lately.

"The probability of the facts doesn't change them," Hanji said, "It is a fact that Eren isn't healing fast enough, and that his titan body was deformed."

"What could be the reason?" Irvin asked.

"We don't know, Sir," the third voice said, "We have been up all night trying to figure something out."

"Jean's right," Hanji said, "With the current limitations in our knowledge of the titans' nature, we can't know anything for sure."

Jean? Jean Kirchsten? He was one of the new recruits, what was he doing there?

"We have a theory though," Jean said, "Well, Hanji came up with it, but it sort of makes sense to me." He paused for a second then added, "Sir."

"What is it?" Irvin asked.

"I was thinking. We know that the neck is the titans' fatal weak spot, and if Eren was injured there then he should've been dead. But we have never actually tested different levels of impact. We know that cutting the entire chunk of flesh off will kill them, but how about an injury of lesser depth?"

"Explain further."

"The fact that it is a fatal weak spot means that it contains important nerves and/or veins. Theoretically speaking; if Eren was hit there, hard but not hard _enough_, he would survive, but not without considerable damage."

Levi didn't hear any voices for around half a minute, then Irvin spoke again.

"Let's say that is actually what happened, how do we fix this?"

"We can't tell, sir," Jean said, "We don't exactly have titans to experiment on since-"

Hanji made a sort of muffled sob sound, and Jean let his words fade out.

"Very well, we'll figure something out. For the time being, you two need to keep an eye on Eren and prevent him from attempting to assume his titan form."

"Yes sir." Levi heard the sound of wood friction against the concrete floor as they stood up and took a couple of steps back so that he would be concealed from their direct sight when they walk out.

"One more thing," Levi heard Irvin's voice again just as the door opened all the way, "Not a word of this to anyone, especially Eren Jaeger."

* * *

"He _can't_ treat you like that, Eren, you can't let him."

Eren sighed, sitting up with his legs crossed. He looked at Mikasa who was sitting on the edge of his bed.

"Just let it go, Mikasa." Irritation was evident in his voice, they have been discussing Levi's visit to his room for the past half hour. It was more than enough for him to go through it, he didn't need to discuss and analyze the reasons behind it as well.

"You let everything he does go," she said, "He should be grateful that you didn't let _him _go and walk away when you had the chance."

"I don't regret saving his life, Mikasa, if that's what you're hinting at."

Mikasa shook her head, "But you feel bad, when you have no reason at all to feel bad."

Well, that's not entirely true, Eren thought. He didn't save Levi's life for the sake of receiving gratitude, but he wasn't exactly expecting Levi to be angry for him either.

And he definitely didn't expect Levi to say he only regarded him as their advantage over the titans.

Then again, Eren didn't really know what he should've expected. It's not like Levi knew about Eren's feelings towards him. It's not like Levi would automatically return them if he knew.

"Eren?" Mikasa looked at him, her short hair was pulled back and there were dark circles under her eyes.

"Y-Yeah, no," he managed to smile slightly, "I don't feel bad. I'm just tired."

"I know you better than that, Eren," Mikasa said, "You do feel bad. And that Levi doesn't have the right to make you feel bad."

A shadow caught Eren's eye, and he glanced at the cell's door only to find Levi standing by it.

"Just because he's the corporal, doesn't mean that he can boss you around and treat you like shit the way he does," Mikasa went on, her back was to the door as she was still facing Eren, "And it definitely doesn't mean that the arrogant bastard shouldn't be grateful for you saving his as-"

"Mikasa," Eren raised his hand up to stop her from talking, his eyes slightly widened.

She raised an eyebrow then turned her head. Her jaw clenched the second she spotted Levi, who stood at the door with both his eyebrows raised. His expression remained neutral except for a hint of amusement in his eyes.

"I need to speak with Eren," Levi said as he pushed the cell's door in, "Alone."

Mikasa turned to look back at Eren who in his turn nodded, gesturing for her that it was okay to go. She got up and went outside, her shoulder scraping against Levi's uninjured one as she went out even though the space could have allowed her to pass with a good distance between them.

Levi closed the cell's door after Mikasa walked out and headed to the chair where he sat earlier, kicking it a little closer to the bed before he sat down.

"Is that how you really feel, Eren?" Levi asked, his gaze meeting Eren's which caused a sudden sensation of heat to flood into Eren's cheeks.

"I-Is what how I really feel, Sir?" Eren leaned back against the post, trying to prevent Levi from seeing the red color that he knew was about to flourish across his features.

"What Mikasa Ackerman said, that I'm an arrogant ungrateful bastard."

"What? No! I don't mean it, she didn't mean it, I don't think it," Eren spoke in haste, the color on his face deepening. He cursed himself inwardly; this isn't the way he should be reacting to Levi now. He should be angry, not embarrassed, not flustered, just plain old angry.

"The day we went out to re-take Wall Rosa," Levi said, "Remember? When all those soldiers laid their lives on the line for you? How did you feel when they died?"

Eren was startled by his question; not expecting him to bring that up. Was he going to blame these deaths on him too? They were for the sake of humanity, not for his own personal gain!

But he knew that didn't change the fact that he thinks about them nearly all the time. Or the fact that he wishes he could've regained control of his titan form earlier. Or the fact that he failed them.

"I felt like their blood was on my hands," Eren finally said; his tone only a tad higher than a whisper.

"Even though you knew it really wasn't."

Eren nodded, his eyes trailed over the sheets pulled up over him for a moment before he glanced back at Levi, "Why are you saying this?"

"Because I need you to understand why I said what I said earlier," Levi said, "I need you to understand why I reacted the way I did."

Eren fell quiet. He wanted to explain himself?

"Why?" Eren asked, not exactly intending to ask the question out loud. He couldn't take his eyes off of Levi's, there was something about the way he returned his gaze. It wasn't like earlier. It wasn't angry or indifferent. It was unfamiliar to Eren, no one ever looked at him that way before.

Without warning, the skin on Eren's arm started to feel like it was set on fire. Eren bit down on his lip to keep from screaming out and immediately pulled back the sheets.

The bandages that surrounded his injury were sizzling as their edges darkened, the way they would if a torch was held against them. Beneath them, right at his elbow, Eren's skin began to split apart.

* * *

Credits: Huge thanks to Jeager's Paradise for looking over the chapter before it was posted and helping with the editing process!


	5. Chapter 5

**Part 5:**

_The tension reaches its peak at midnight_

_as Eren's condition worsens._

* * *

"Grab the bandages!" Hanji shouted over to Jean, who has been frozen at the door and staring at Eren for a good five minutes.

She glanced back at him, "What are you waiting for? Run to my room you'll find them next to the bed!"

Jean snapped out of his initial shock, then turned around his heel and took off running down the hall. Hanji turned her attention back to Eren, his hand in hers as she held onto it tightly.

"Look at me, Eren, it's important you stay conscious," she said, noting that blood was sliding down Eren's arm and onto both her hand and his. The wound in his arm was widening bit by bit and all Eren could do was stare in disbelief at it, while gritting his teeth together to prevent himself from screaming. The pain continued to intensify as the wound grew, and it wasn't anything Eren had felt before. It was as if his skin was a piece of fabric and someone was ripping it apart, slowly letting every thread stretch on till it can no longer stay intact.

Around fifteen minutes ago, Eren witnessed a change of expression on Levi's face for the first time. He could almost swear that was a bigger shock to him than the fact that his body is ripping itself from the inside out. Levi's eyebrows had suddenly knotted together, creasing his forehead whilst his eyes managed to somehow widen at the same time. For that moment it was as if Levi had unleashed all the expressions he has ever held back all at once.

Levi didn't look him in the eyes before he got up then and rushed over to the cell doors, calling on the guards to get Hanji immediately. He was then by Eren's side before Eren had gotten the chance to understand what was going on. Levi ripped a piece of the sheets and slid his hand under Eren's elbow, holding Eren's arm up to wrap the piece of sheet around it and stop the bleeding.

Eren couldn't help but yell out when the fabric came in touch with his skin, feeling as if a knife was being scraped against his bones. He tried pushing Levi's hand away then as an automatic reflex, but Levi tightened his hold on Eren's elbow, keeping his arm in place and tying the piece of sheet over it.

Eren heard the metal clank of the cell doors slamming open and Hanji got inside, rushing straight towards Eren. Levi reluctantly stepped back to allow her to get a good look at Eren's arm, and Eren felt Levi's touch over his elbow linger for a fraction of a second before he let go.

Jean had come barging in with Hanji, which Eren might have found odd if his mind wasn't consumed with the pulsing pain originating from his arm and spreading throughout his body.

"Eren! Eren look at me!" Eren blinked, glancing up at Hanji who was starting to look slightly blurry to him. He blinked again to regain focus of his vision, when Jean returned with the bandages.

The sheet that Levi wrapped around Eren's arm was soaked through with blood and Hanji discarded it aside, snatching the bandages from Jean's hand and letting them unwrap. She then started placing them over Eren's persistently growing wound, trying to cover as much as possible to compensate for the skin loss.

"What's happening?" Levi asked through a clenched jaw, his gaze kept shifting from Eren's wound to the floor. Eren couldn't for the life of him figure out why Levi was avoiding eye contact with him. He bit down on his lip again to prevent himself from yelling.

Hanji shook her head, running her hand quickly through her hair to get her bangs out of her eyes. "I don't know, Levi, but it's not looking good," she said, applying a bit of pressure on the bandages which caused Eren to flinch and punch the mattress with his other hand.

"Oh yeah? I really _really_ thought it looked fantastic," Levi spat, his features twisting in a scowl, "You know that stuff, Hanji, do something!"

Hanji glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes before returning her gaze to Eren's arm and applying a smaller amount of pressure to ensure his arm was completely wrapped.

"I'm not a doctor, I can only do so much about something I don't understand," she said then took a step back, looking over Eren to see if there was another wound on his body.

"But you do understand," Levi said, "I heard you earlier, you have theories about what's happening to Eren."

Hanji looked back at Levi with wide eyes, seemingly caught off guard. Eren looked from her to Levi, "What's happening to me? Theories? What's going on?"

Levi met his gaze momentarily before looking at Hanji again, ignoring his questions.

"Is there something you're keeping from me about me?" Eren asked, his tone was shaking as he tried to talk while constantly preventing himself from screaming out.

Hanji looked at Eren then, "It's not exactly something we're keeping from you," she said, "But we might have a theory as to why your body is reacting the way it is."

Levi rolled his eyes, "The skin on your titan form was torn apart when they found you," he said, not paying attention to the way Hanji was regarding him, "And they think you were hit on the neck."

"But my neck doesn't hurt-" Eren lifted his other hand up to his neck, and then quickly jerked it back as soon as he touched the skin. It was burning up as if it were made of boiling water. How was that even possible? He didn't feel any pain there ever since he woke up. You can't just get a fever that high on only one part of your body without noticing.

Levi moved in to touch Eren's neck then, pulling his hand back the second his fingers came in contact with Eren's skin as well. "It's steaming," he said, looking at Hanji and avoiding meeting Eren's eyes again.

Hanji held the back of Eren's head gently, keeping her hand right below the burning part of his neck as her fingers patted around that area. "The only part that's burning is the same chunk of flesh we always cut off the titans' necks."

* * *

Commander Irvin leaned against the wall, attempting to rub the headache out of his temples. He was woken up a few moments ago by Jean's yells telling him it's urgent, and damn that boy had a loud voice.

"So that means that your theory checks out?" Irvin asked, still feeling a little disoriented as he wasn't fully awake yet.

Hanji nodded, "I suppose it does," she said, "There's no other viable explanation that makes sense out of the available evidence at the moment."

"Then what is the solution?"

"Maybe if you didn't repeat the problem over and over again and started thinking past that point you'll find a solution," Levi said, the scowl not leaving his lips. Irvin had asked him and Hanji to step outside the cell and discuss what to do next, while Jean stayed inside with Eren.

"It's not very easy to come up with a solution to an unprecedented issue, Levi," Irvin said, his tone was calm and a little hoarse due to his sleepiness, but he tried to force himself to wake up faster. As a soldier, Irvin knew that he was supposed to be able to turn his consciousness on and off on cue, being able to snap into action the moment it becomes necessary no matter what state he was in. However, it was something he never quite mastered.

"Irvin's right, factors must be taken into consideration and deductions should be made-"

Irvin noted Levi's eyes widen just a fraction then before he raised his hand to stop Hanji from talking. "I know who can help," he said.

Irvin raised an eyebrow then as he awaited Levi's answer, quickly scanning his own brain for a guess at who he's hinting at but to no avail.

"The blonde kid from the new recruits," Levi said, looking from Hanji to Irvin, "The one who managed to come up with a plan for the soldiers to survive the titan's siege back at the supply storage."

"Armin Arlert?" Hanji asked, "We all know that Arlert is Eren's closest friend."

Irvin nodded, "He's smart, but he will most definitely panic seeing his friend like that. He won't be able to give a sound non-biased opinion on the situation, he'll just add to the stress."

Levi looked at Irvin, "Are you serious?" he shook his head, "As far as I'm concerned a non-biased panicked diagnosis is better than no diagnosis at all."

"Rivaille, our situation here is sensitive," Irvin said, "We cannot let the news of Eren's sickness spread out through the Corps, it will cause-"

"What?" Levi cut him off, his tone rising, "What would it cause that could be worse than what is happening to Eren right now? Because what is happening right now is that Eren is _literally_ coming undone, and you two have been saying the same damn sentence all day."

Levi made to move away from them towards the stairs, but Hanji grabbed his arm in an attempt to stop him. "Levi-"

He yanked his arm from her hold a little too roughly, "No, you can sit here and translate your theory into different languages all night for all I care, I'm going to get shit done."

With that, Levi took off, taking the stairs two at a time to go wake up Armin.

Hanji was about to go after him when Irvin stopped her by shaking his head. "Just let him be," he said, "He might be onto something." Irvin saw Hanji's expression change into one of slight shock then confusion, and he sighed.

"We don't have many options," he said, "The boy can't die; even if extreme measures had to be made to prevent that."

"But bringing Armin Arlert in would also mean notifying Mikasa Ackerman, and Jean already knows because he has witnessed Eren's condition first hand," Hanji said, "You told me yourself if news of this ever got outside the Recon Corps Eren's fate may be re-considered."

"That was before we hit a dead end with our thought process. If we didn't bring help in now, Eren may end up not having a fate at all."

* * *

Levi had run up two flights of stairs to reach the floor where the recruits were staying, and as soon as he stepped into the hall he almost bumped into someone. Stepping back and squinting to make out the figure before him in the dim light, he saw that it was Mikasa Ackerman.

She was dressed in full uniform but the constant dripping from her hair onto her shoulders indicated that she just took a shower. Mikasa raised an eyebrow when she saw Levi and opened her mouth to say something when Levi spoke before her.

"Where is Armin Arlert?" Levi asked, his tone impatient. He wasn't about to wait for her to ask questions, that was time they couldn't afford. "It's urgent."

Mikasa pointed down the hall, "He's in the last room to the left," she said, "Is everything alright, Corporal?"

Levi knew she was asking just for the sake of Armin, and he contemplated coming up with some sort of random excuse as to why he needed Armin like help with a formation plan or something similar.

"Eren's been hurt," Levi found himself blurting out the truth, without really thinking over the consequences of such an action. He knew that Mikasa Ackerman was Eren's adopted sister, and he knew Mikasa being there with Eren might make him feel a little better.

Levi wondered when he'd become invested in Eren's emotional well-being.

"What?" Mikasa's eyes were suddenly wide; her mouth gaped open a little.

"Something that we don't understand, something's happening to his skin," Levi started explaining around the same time he started walking down the hall, picking up pace as he went along. "Hence why we need Armin."

Mikasa made it to Armin's door before him somehow, and half-knocked half-kicked the door in. The blonde boy woke up with a start, reaching out for his gear blindly before his eyes were even fully opened.

"It's me, Armin," Mikasa said, her words rushed, "Get up, Eren was hurt."

Armin was out of the bed in a matter of seconds, slipping his feet into his boots and not bothering to even grab something to wear over his thin short-sleeved gray shirt before he was out the door and running towards the basement.

_In some sort of twisted way, Eren was lucky._

Levi had never considered it before, but Eren had a lot of people willing to throw themselves on the line for his sake. And not out of being ordered to do so either. For a moment he found himself thinking about what that would feel like, having someone be there with all they've got like that. Having someone just show how much they cared for you like that.

Less than a minute later they were all back in Eren's cell, and Armin was crouching on his knees besides Eren bed, holding Eren's arm.

Mikasa sat next to Eren on the bed, her hand holding his uninjured hand and Levi had half a mind to tell her to get up and let him sit there instead.

And he had no idea where that thought came from.

Hanji had set up pillows for Eren so he could sit up as he was too dizzy to hold his own balance for long, even though Eren kept telling her she didn't do that and that he was fine.

But Levi could clearly see that Eren looked nowhere than fine. His shirt was sticking to his body with sweat yet he was shivering. His normally bright green eyes that were usually filled with so much anger were now a glossed over dull grey.

And the bandage Hanji had placed on his arm was almost completely red now.

Hanji had briefed Armin on the situation, explaining the theory to him as Armin checked over Eren's wound and wrapped another coat of bandages. They didn't want to risk exposure and so they couldn't change the rapidly soaking ones.

"That could be possible," Armin said, slowly tilting Eren's head to the side to observe his neck. It was turning reddish now, and Armin jerking back his hand after touching confirmed to Levi that it was still running a fever.

"What could we do then?" Levi asked, standing as close as possible to Eren's bed.

Armin bit down on his lip, lightly brushing Eren's hair up and out of his eyes. Again, Levi felt that he should be the one doing that and he was starting to feel irritated at the thoughts that kept popping out of nowhere at such an inappropriate time.

"I'm not sure," Armin said, "We know when Eren becomes a titan, his body is woven within the veins and nerves embedded in the neck of his titan form."

Hanji nodded, glancing at Irvin who was standing across the cell to make sure he was following, and he nodded in return, looking at Armin.

"A superficial injury wouldn't cause this much damage to Eren's body," Armin continued, and Levi saw Mikasa tighten her hold on Eren's hand out of the corner of his eyes and fought the sudden urge to scowl. Just because they were sort-of family didn't mean she should be that close to him-

_Stop. Stop thinking that way._

"An internal injury on the other hand, or internal bleeding, could," Armin said, and Levi's attention focused on him.

"An internal injury?" Levi asked, "How do we fix that?"

Armin shook his head, "I-I don't know," he said, closing his eyes for a moment in what Levi figured was an effort to concentrate. "We'd need to perform an operation. To let the blood out and allow whatever fractured part of the deeper layers of his skin to form blood clots and heal."

"Alright, let's get on with it then," Levi said, "What do we need?"

Armin looked down for a moment, and Levi could see the strain in the boy's shoulders. "It's not that easy, sir. We'd need tools to operate, and medical books to follow, and a sanitized room to operate in."

"We also need a doctor," Hanji said, "We're soldiers, we're not experienced in this kind of thing."

"There are no doctors near here, and none of the supplies you want either," Irvin said then, walking closer towards Eren's bed, "Could a non-physician even perform something like that?"

Armin let out a sigh of frustration, "In theory, if we have the exact procedure, we'll only need someone with precise and steady hands."

Hanji nodded then, "Yeah..Yes! You're right! We just need the books. I've read about this kind of thing before. Ofcourse!" Her tone sounded a tad enthusiastic for a moment. "It's not as dangerous as it sounds, there may just be a part of the skin that is under too much pressure to form blood clots. If we could release the overflowing internal blood then maybe Eren's regenerating ability would kick in."

"Great then, it would take me around ten minutes to come up with a spotless room to operate in," Levi said, "I could get started right away-"

"Levi," Irvin interrupted him, "We don't have any of the supplies required to perform such an operation."

Hanji closed her eyes then, cursing under her breath. "We'd need medical cutting tools, medicines that help with blood clotting, a special kind of bandages, too many things that we don't have right now. We can't just cut his neck with a kitchen knife."

"Fine then," Levi said, "I'll go get them right now."

Irvin stared at him for a moment, "These supplies are only found inside of Wall Sina, Levi, wait till morning and we could go there-"

Levi shook his head, "We don't have till morning, he's lost too much blood."

"It's midnight; you _can't_ cross titan territory at night time."

Levi was beginning to grow impatient. What was wrong with their eyesight? Eren's blood was already seeping onto the mattress and Armin was rushing to apply more pressure, while Eren wasn't even awake enough to flinch at the pain!

"Watch me."

* * *

Credits: Huge thanks to Jeager's Paradise for constant help and input on the story.


	6. Chapter 6

**HUGE THANKS TO JEAGER'S PARADISE FOR INPUT AND ALWAYS BEING THERE TO HELP. **

* * *

**Part 6: **

_Levi makes a decision that intensifies_

_the tension both within himself and the other members of the_

_Recon Corps._

* * *

"Are you even listening to me?"

Levi was sitting on the edge of his bed, the blades laid out neatly next to him as he used a brush to polish the insides of his new 3D maneuver gear. He didn't bother looking up at Irvin as he walked inside. "Not really, no."

"You're about to cross titan territory at midnight," Irvin said, walking over to Levi and standing directly infront of him. "Did you forget that you're injured, Levi? One wrong movement and your fractured ribs can puncture your lungs, not to mention that your right arm is basically out of order."

Levi lifted his left hand and clenched it into a fist then re-opened it again before positioning the blades into place in his gear, "Still got a perfectly functioning arm right here," he said, "I _am_ humanity's strongest, or do you forget?"

"Even humanity's strongest can't fight titans in the dark with one hand," Irvin said, frustration clear in his tone.

"You don't know what I can or can't do," Levi stood up, walking to the cabinet across the room and taking out his belts and cape.

Irvin followed him with his gaze, "You can't wait five hours till dawn? Then we can send out an entire squad-"

"Considering the fact that Eren's arm was almost reduced to bones in less than an hour, no I can't wait," Levi didn't give Irvin the chance to finish his sentence as he grew impatient. Why couldn't he just leave him be? Was Levi the only one who can see how bad Eren's condition was? Did they all forget how many soldiers sacrificed their lives for Eren's sake earlier?

Did they all forget that if it weren't for Eren he wouldn't even _be_ here in the first place?

He began to fasten the belts around his thighs, leaning against the wall as he tried to get them in place as fast as possible. The belts clicked into place and Levi gritted his teeth together as they tightened around the bruises on his leg, but he ignored the pain.

"You're in no state to fight, just listen to the voice of reason."

Levi moved across the room again to put on his boots, "You're suggesting that I leave Eren die," he said, "Is that what qualifies as reason to you?"

"You have been a part of the Recon Corps for a long time now, Levi," Irvin said, his gaze never leaving Levi for even a moment, "Before embarking on any mission, risk factors must be considered. We must choose the road that leads to the least loss-"

"Again, what you're saying suggests that losing Eren is the least loss," Levi stood up once more and grabbed his gear, fixing it into position around his waist, hips and legs.

"Ofcourse not, and we won't lose him, just wait," Irvin said, "Just wait till morning and we'll all save him."

Did the lack of sleep finally get to Irvin's head? Levi wasn't even sure how Irvin kept letting those words come out of his mouth. How many times did he have to repeat that they were on a tight clock?

"Irvin, stop trying to make sense out of senseless things," Levi said as he grabbed his cape, "Either say something that could be useful to me right now, or leave me be."

Irvin sighed, "What road are you even going to take, Levi? Did you think this through at all?"

"The fifth road from the 34th map layout," Levi blurted out, "Around the castle and through that forest with the big-ass trees."

Irvin raised an eyebrow, "The trees will block out the moonlight," he said, "You'll be navigating in complete darkness."

"I'll also be navigating away from the titan's direct range of sight," Levi said, "The forest provides a decent cover."

"What if there were titans within the forest?"

"The forest provides the perfect environment for maneuver gear," Levi said, "And Hanji already proved that titans are weak and virtually powerless shits without the sunlight."

"It's still a theory, there could be aberrants, and you'll be alone."

"Stop it, just stop," Levi said, a sharp edge to his tone. He clasped the cape around his neck, and flicked a small piece of loose string off of it. "I'm going."

Levi started to move towards the door when Irvin grabbed his shoulder, "Rivaille, Petra has been unconscious for two days now, there's a huge chance we'll be losing her," he said, his voice lowered as he tried to keep it steady, "We can't lose you too."

Levi shrugged Irvin's grip off and turned to face him, his grey eyes narrowed and darkened. "You would've lost me if it weren't for Eren, you were willing to sacrifice me for Eren," he said.

"That was different, I tried to go back for you but was blocked off by titans, I had to defend the rest of the squad," Irvin said, "We didn't have a choice then, Levi."

"Well I have a choice now," Levi said, "And I choose to not let Eren die because of an injury that he wouldn't have gotten if he didn't_ save my life_."

Levi turned around again and headed out the door, anger mixed with the throbbing adrenaline in his veins and he wanted to punch Irvin for not seeing things the way he does.

"Is that the only reason you're going on this suicide mission?"

Levi heard Irvin's words once he was out the door and paused, his muscles visibly tensed for a moment before he continued walking away.

* * *

The Corporal made his way down the stairs that led to Eren's cells, double checking on his straps as he walked and trying to adjust them so they wouldn't be directly fastened over his bruises.

He knew there was no denying the fact that he wasn't in his best shape. He also knew there was no denying that the area around his chest was bruised and that the condition of his right shoulder would pose as a liability while using 3D maneuver gear. Under any different circumstances, Levi might have even considered taking two days off of everything to heal.

But healing wasn't a luxury he could afford.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Levi caught a glimpse outside the window in the hall. It was nearing the end of October, and that meant the moon was but a mere crescent. Needless to say, he wouldn't be counting on its light to guide him through.

"Corporal?"

Levi looked away from the window to find Jean Kirschtein standing at the top of the stairs, holding a metallic jar in his hand.

"What are you doing here?" Levi asked.

"I'm just bringing Eren some water," Jean said, lifting up the jar in his hand, "He keeps saying that he's thirsty."

Atleast he was still conscious, Levi thought. He nodded before walking along past Jean towards the stairs, "Well, on your way now."

"Sir, are you really going to get Eren's medical supplies now?" Jean asked.

Levi half-turned his head back to look at him, "What's it to you, Kirschtein?"

Jean fidgeted slightly, shifting his weight from his left leg to his right, "I was just wondering, you know your way there right?"

"I memorized the maps," Levi said, a little confused by Jean's question, "Is this going somewhere? I don't have all the time in the world."

Jean shook his head, "Yes, no, ofcourse," he stepped back, "Just have a safe trip, sir."

Levi nodded and returned his gaze to the stairs again as he began making his way down. What the hell was that about? He shook his head; this wasn't the time to analyze meaningless questions.

_It has hardly been the time to do anything really as of late._

As the cell came into Levi's view, he could see that Mikasa, Armin and Hanji all had their hands full. Armin had his hand placed on Eren's mid-back, supporting him in a sitting position. Mikasa was dipping a cloth in a basin of water then holding it to the back of Eren's neck. Hanji was wrapping a new coat of bandages around Eren's arm.

And Eren was staring into nothingness. His big eyes were unfocused, his hair was sticking to his temples and forehead with sweat, and his skin was turning a stale yellow-ish color. Levi's breath caught at the sight of Eren like that, and he had to take a couple of quick deep breaths to clear his head again.

He wouldn't panic, Levi never panicked. Not when he used to live on the streets, not when he saw his first titan, not when he heard news of the wall's breaking down. Never. And he wasn't about to start now.

Hanji noticed him first, and her jaw fell open. She immediately stood up, "Levi! Why are you in gear-You're not seriously going are you?!"

Levi glanced at her before directing his gaze back to Eren, "Whatever you have to say, I really don't have the patience for it," he said, "My decision is made."

At that, Eren met his gaze. He could see the boy's eyebrows furrow together in confusion before his eyes widened. "W-Where are you going?" he asked, then coughed and closed his eyes for a moment before meeting Levi's gaze again.

"Going to get your supplies," Levi said, looking straight into Eren's eyes and wishing that they were as lively as they were when he was arguing with him earlier that day.

Eren's eyes widened further, "_What?_ Now?"

The mere effort of moving his lips to speak seemed to be taking a toll on him more than it should on any man. "Save it," Levi said, "Just rest."

"What-" Eren tilted his head to the side, pursuing his lips together as if he had momentarily lost his focus on what was going on. "You're leaving-No-NO!"

Eren made to sit up straighter then let out a small scream before gritting his teeth together to silence himself. Armin placed his hand on Eren's shoulder and pushed him back lightly against the pillows, "Don't move, movement causes your skin to tear," he muttered.

The tension in Armin's shoulders could be seen from a mile away, and Mikasa looked down, her hair concealing her face making Levi unable to see her expression. Even if Levi had had any doubts about what he was about to do, they would have been cleared as he witnessed this scene. There was something about Mikasa and Armin's postures around Eren. The simple way they positioned themselves around him, Mikasa leaning closer to him as she patted the cloth over his neck and Armin's hand knotted in the fabric of Eren's shirt, it was hard to miss.

Eren meant so much more to them than words could possibly describe, you didn't even need to know them to be sure of it. And as much as Levi wanted, or atleast some part of him that he didn't quite comprehend, to be the one sitting next to Eren right now; he would never ask them to get up. Because as much as they needed Eren, Eren needed them.

"You can't go," Eren said, his tone was weak, audible only because the room was in a state of dead silence, "It's too dangerous."

Levi walked up to Eren then, stopping only when he was an inch away from his bed. "I'm going, nothing can change that," he said, "And I will return."

Then the Corporal did something that neither Eren nor himself expected, he took hold of Eren's good arm. His hand tightened around his forearm and for a split-second a sensation passed through Levi that was much like an electric shock, gone faster than he could be completely sure it ever happened. "I will return, and you will be alive when I return, are we clear on that?"

Eren didn't blink or move a muscle as he stared into Levi's eyes, his paling features gaining a faded shade of color. His mouth was open but no words were coming out.

Levi released his grip and took a step back, nodding at Eren. "Glad we have that covered." No one in the room spoke, not even Hanji who never failed to comment on any situation. "I'll be back before noon tomorrow."

He turned around to walk outside; the silence was starting to get to him. It was true he hated the way everyone in this place seemed to be always talking, but there was something about the way they were quiet now that made him uncomfortable.

"Sit back!" Levi heard Armin's voice and turned back around once he reached the cell's doors. He saw Eren trying to get up again, the blood soaking through his bandages faster now.

"Leave me!" Eren tried to scream out, his voice sounded hoarse and he went into a coughing fit.

"Keep him in place," Levi said, trying his best to not allow his tone to break. Why was all of this getting to him so much?! Why couldn't he compose himself and straighten the fuck up? It was just a mission for God's sake! He had gone on so many expeditions before. He had seen so many men die before-

No. Eren was different. Eren was important to humanity. Levi had never had the fate of someone that important rest on his shoulders before. That must be the reason why he was panicking.

And Eren was _not_ dying.

He turned around again and pulled the cell's doors open. If he didn't look back then he would stay in control of his nerves. This wasn't the time to worry about whether Eren was feeling upset or not, this was the time to worry about whether Eren was breathing or not.

"Don't let him move," Levi said, his tone was now firmer, "Chain him if you have to."

* * *

The stables were quiet as most of the horses were resting. Levi treaded over to his black horse, careful not to step on the hay and scowling slightly at the smell. He'll have to have a word or two with Eren about the state of this place after he's all regenerated and back on his feet again.

Eren_. Was that last line really necessary?_

Yes. It was necessary to keep Eren in place. If the boy had attempted to get up his legs may have started unraveling as well. And Levi knew he was stupid enough to attempt that.

What was going on? Levi felt like something was off with his own head. He wasn't thinking as straight as he usually would be. He felt like he wasn't in control of everything around him. Was it the pain? No, Levi was used to being in pain. He'd gone through all these injuries before.

Then why did it feel as if his brain was foggy? He didn't receive any blows to the head as far as he could remember. Or maybe that was it, he received a blow to the head and he was slowly losing his mind.

Levi ran his hand through his hair, leaning against the interior walls of the stables for a moment. If he didn't regain his focus soon, then he would definitely be going on a suicide mission.

A rustling sound took Rivaille out of his thoughts and he immediately straightened up. Glancing at the source of the noise, Levi found Hanji standing by the stable doors. She was panting and her face was flushed red, indicating that she probably came running down here. The torch flames reflected in her glasses as Levi met her gaze.

"What are you doing here?" Levi asked, turning to unlock the gate and let out his horse out.

"I'm not going to try and talk you out of it before you lash out at me," Hanji said, walking towards him, "I'm just here to ask you something."

"Can't it wait?" Levi pulled the horse out by the reins, leading him to the back of the stables, "I don't have that much time."

"Why are you doing this?" Hanji asked, following him outside the stables, "Why are you going on this mission?"

Levi started to fasten a small supplies bag into the saddle, "Do I need to paint it in capital letters over the castle walls for everyone to see? I'm _not_ going to let a man die on my account when I can save him."

"And you don't think there's something odd with the way you're acting? You don't seem much like yourself, Levi, we're worried," Hanji said, standing infront of him so he could look at her.

Levi didn't lift his gaze up as he double checked that the saddle was secured, "I didn't realize you all became experts on my behavior," he rolled his eyes, "Just leave me be Hanji, I know what I'm doing and why I'm doing it."

Hanji fell silent then, and Levi finally looked up at her. He could see that her eyes were slightly shining and he sighed. What was it with everyone thinking he's riding to his death? Did they have that little faith in him?

"I'll be back, Hanji," he said, "Go back to looking out for Eren, they need you up there."

Hanji nodded, and then held up her hand. She was holding a wooden makeshift circular object that had a lock and a smaller circle attached to it.

"Here," She moved towards the horse and positioned the circle around his neck. She then walked inside the stables and took one of the torch sticks out of its holder before walking back out and placing it in the smaller circle.

"You need some sort of light to guide you," she said, "Don't worry, I tested this myself before. It's completely safe, won't fall."

Levi looked at the torch then back at Hanji, "Thanks," he muttered, before placing his hand on the saddle and getting on the horse.

Hanji stepped back, she was about to say something else when Levi took off, not looking back at her. The wind rushed against his face the minute he started racing away from the stables, and he increased his speed.

There will be no goodbyes. There was no time to dwell on what happened or what could happen. Eren didn't waste time considering any risk factor when he was saving him, and Levi wasn't about to do that either.


	7. Chapter 7

**HUGE THANKS AND CREDITS TO JEAGER'S PARADISE FOR HELP, INPUT AND SUPPORT! **

* * *

**Part 7: **

_Levi races against the clock_

_to bring back Eren's supplies._

* * *

_Darkened gray clouds drifted infront of the moon, blocking its light every few minutes from reflecting on the grass below Levi's horse. Levi lightly kicked the side of his horse with the back of his ankle, pushing it to go forward faster._

_What was he doing there? Eren thought as his eyes followed Levi's figure, keeping up pace with him somehow. He couldn't remember for the life of him how he got there. Were he and Levi riding out for some reason? But why would they ride out in the middle of the night? _

_Eren glanced around. Wherever they were, it didn't give him a good vibe. It definitely didn't feel like safe territory. But there was no way that they would be riding outside the walls..Surely not at this time? What was he missing? _

_The wind started whipping stronger around them, causing Eren to shiver. He tightened his hand on the reins of his own horse, leaning closer to the fur on the back of its mane in an attempt to gain some warmth. His gaze shifted to Levi again and he saw that Levi had pulled the hood of his cape over his head, but he didn't seem to be affected by the cold as his grips stayed as steady as iron over the reins. _

_Eren tried to squeeze even a little bit of information out of his memory, but his head felt as though he were in a delirium. He had his hands closed around the reins, but he couldn't feel the material of the ropes. _

_A sharp pain shot up Eren's arm, the suddenness of it almost causing him to fall of his horse. He grabbed hold of the saddle with his good hand, gaining back his balance at the last moment. _

_He rolled his left sleeve up and inspected the skin on his arm, it looked perfectly fine. There wasn't even a scratch on it. Then why did it feel as if it were being scorched? He let the sleeve of his jacket fall back down, but he felt nothing as the fabric brushed against his skin. _

_Infront of him, Levi was gaining even more speed as they approached a cluster of large trees. The trees were intertwined together, their branches and leaves casting a thick shadow over the grass around them that left the area almost entirely unlit. _

_And the Corporal was heading straight towards them. _

_"LEVI, SIR!" _

_Eren yelled at Levi to stop advancing towards them and go around the trees, but the Corporal didn't slow down. If anything, he was beckoning the horse to go faster. Had he not heard Eren? There was no way that he hadn't, the place was eerily silent. _

_Eerily silent. _

_Come to think about it, Eren wasn't hearing any sounds. Not his own yells. Not the beat of the horses' hooves against the ground. Not even the wind rustling the tree leaves. Nothing._

_Eren began to feel a slight persistent pain in his head; and he looked ahead to find no traces of Levi. Cursing under his breath, he kicked the side of his own horse as he rushed towards the forest. Just as he had suspected, there was no light to lead them within the trees. The darkness was overwhelming; Eren couldn't see anything beyond his horse's ears._

_Every muscle in his body tensed as the pain in his head grew stronger, and Eren suddenly felt faint. His grip on the horse reins loosened and his eyes were closing in spite of his efforts to keep them open. The horse increased its speed then, and Eren was thrown backwards, losing consciousness before his body crashed against the ground._

_Less than a minute later, loud noises erupted all around him. Eren woke up with a start, his heart was beating a mile a minute. What had happened? Wasn't he just in a forest? Didn't he just get injured? _

_Someone was shouting his name and he looked up to see it was Armin, and he was grinning. Why was Armin grinning? _

_"The Corporal is back!" Petra said. She was standing by the cell's door, holding a food tray and looking at Eren, "He has your supplies, and he's safe!" _

_Eren furrowed his eyebrows together in confusion, Levi was back? So it was only a dream? It felt too realistic to him to be only a dream…But he supposed that didn't matter now that Levi was here. _

_The cell's door was pushed open, and the Corporal stepped inside. He was holding a brown leathery bag in his hand, and he regarded Eren with his usual neutral expression. _

_"You look like you've just seen a ghost, you little shit," he said, "What, did you doubt me?"_

_Eren's confusion didn't go away, but a sense of relief crept into his heart. Levi was there, he was safe, everything else can be figured out later. He glanced up and met the Corporal's gaze, his heart skipping a beat when the corner of the Corporal's lip turned up in a slight smile. _

_The shock of Levi's smiling overwhelmed all else that he felt, he had never seen Levi even give the ghost of a smile before. _

_But he felt that this simple gesture was the most beautiful thing he has ever seen._

_Eren. _

_The sound of his name being called brought him out of his thoughts. He glanced around to find the source of the voice but everyone was quiet. The same dizziness from earlier washed over him and Eren found his eyes closing again, he turned to look at Levi. _

_But Levi was no longer there._

* * *

"Eren!" Mikasa was gripping Eren's shoulder, shaking him lightly but steadily. "Eren wake up!"

The first thing Eren could register was that the strong pain in his head has returned, along with the burning sensation in his right forearm. He slowly opened his eyes and glanced down at it again, except this time he could clearly see his injuries. A set of fingers trailed over the bandages, unwrapping a blood-soaked layer and replacing it with a fresh clean one.

His gaze shifted to Mikasa and he saw her breathe a sigh of relief. She relaxed her grip on his shoulder then before brushing his hair out of his eyes. "Eren? Can you hear me?" She leaned closer to him, her gaze fixed on his.

Eren felt his throat constricting and he coughed, which in its turn caused him to feel as if the dungeon had started spinning around. He tightly shut his eyes as his throat constricted even more, feeling an immense pressure in his stomach. He rolled to his side then, looking down at the floor as the pressure in his stomach increased. A rusted bucket was thrust right below his face a second before Eren threw up whatever he ate recently.

What did he eat recently? He didn't even remember eating anything the past two or maybe three days. Eren lifted his head up and saw that Armin was the one holding the bucket. His bestfriend set the bucket down then before reaching out to wipe Eren's mouth with a towel he held in the other hand. Eren snatched the towel from him then, the simple effort causing his muscles to tense up and almost cramp. He wiped his own mouth before tossing the towel aside on the floor, "I can wipe my own face," he muttered, inducing another fit of coughs.

Armin grabbed the bucket again and placed it under Eren's chin, but Eren cast it aside. "I-I'm fine!" He leaned his head back against the pillow and tried to take a few deep breaths to clear up the constriction in his throat. Mikasa still hadn't removed her hand from his shoulder, and she half-sat on the edge of his bed.

"Wh-Where did Levi go?" Eren asked as his dizziness slightly decreased and he looked around the room. He could only see Armin, Mikasa and Hanji. How did Levi leave so fast? Eren could swear he was only standing by those doors a second ago.

Armin frowned slightly as he looked at Eren, "He went out to get supplies for you, Eren, he told you that before he left."

"I know that," Eren said, "He came back just now, where is he?"

Hanji looked up then, her hand still under Eren's arm, "He only went out an hour ago, Eren, he's not back yet."

"Are you guys all blind? He was standing right at that door!" Eren pointed at the cell doors before looking at Armin, "You saw him, you were grinning!"

Armin shook his head, his eyes widening, "What? I wasn't grinning! How could I be grinning when you're in this state, Eren? I didn't see Levi either!"

"B-But," Eren looked at the cell's doors. No one was outside in the hall, and no was standing anywhere around them. "Petra was there, she told me he was back! Go find her and ask her!"

"Eren.." Hanji finished wrapping the new coat of bandages before standing up, "Petra has been unconscious ever since that titans attack."

Disorientation crept over Eren's thoughts again as he glanced down at his own hand, noting that it had started to shake slightly. Things weren't making any sense. First he was in the forest with Levi, then he was in his room with Levi, now he's in the room _without _Levi. None of the three situations felt less real than the other, and Eren began to feel dizzy again. He doubled over the side of the bed, and Armin was there with the bucket as Eren threw up his stomach's contents again. Blood dripped out of the corner of his mouth after he was done, and Armin rushed to wipe his face again. This time, Eren didn't have the strength to stop him.

"W-Water," he muttered, his throat felt dry as he went into another coughing fit, throwing up some more.

Mikasa grabbed the jar that sat on the table beside the bed and held it up, "Jean, go get some water-" She looked up then, "Jean?"

Armin, Mikasa and Hanji glanced around the room at the same time, realizing they were the only ones there. "Wasn't he standing here just a minute ago?" Hanji asked, raising an eyebrow.

Armin nodded, his grip on the edge of the bucket tightened only slightly as his shoulders tensed. "Maybe he's outside in the hall," he set the bucket down and walked towards the door. Glancing out in both directions, there was still no sign of Jean.

"He's not here," Armin said, looking back at them, "How can he just disappear into thin air like that?"

Hanji shrugged, "Maybe he went back to sleep, he did look pretty tired," she said, double-checking over the bandages. She then took the jar from Mikasa and handed it to Armin, "We don't have time to think about that now, go get the water."

Armin nodded, taking the jar and unlocking the cell doors. Mikasa directed her attention back to Eren as she lightly placed her hand to his neck then frowned, getting another piece of wet cloth and pressing it to his skin. "He's getting worse, Hanji."

"That's why I told you we shouldn't have let him sleep after Levi left," Hanji replied, "When he's asleep his body functions are slowed down, including the ability to heal, both titan and human."

"He's slipping out of consciousness again," Mikasa said, noting that Eren's eyes were closed and that his breathing was starting to slow down. She shook his shoulders lightly again, "I don't know how long we can keep him awake."

Hanji bit down on her lip, glancing out the small window at the top corner of Eren's cell, "Let's pray Levi gets here faster then."

* * *

By the time Levi had made it to Wall Rose, the sky was already rapidly gaining the blue-ish violet hue of dawn. He stopped his horse a few feet before the gates, then took out a pistol and loaded it with a yellow-smoke round. Lifting the pistol up as high as he could, Levi fired the round to alert the garrison that he needed to pass through.

A few moments later another yellow shot was fired in response, and the gate began to slide up. Levi beckoned his horse to go forward as soon as there was enough space to allow his passing, and the gate slid closed again once he was inside.

Once he was inside, Levi was greeted by a pair of guards. They brought their fists to their hearts in salute, and the look in their eyes told Levi that they were predicting the worse.

He returned their salute before getting off his horse, handing the reins to one of the guards. "I'm here to acquire medical supplies," he said, "A soldier has been wounded."

The guard visibly relaxed as he took Levi's horse, before raising an eyebrow. Levi knew it was a rare, no, a non-existent occasion that a member of the Recon Corps goes back home in the middle of a mission just to ask for supplies. He could tell that the guard expected some sort of explanation, but Levi didn't have the patience nor the time for that.

_Nor the explanation itself, really. _

"Make sure that the horse is fed, I'll return in a matter of thirty minutes," he said, before turning around and starting to walk down the street. There was a small medical clinic at the outskirts of Trost, only one of two places in the entire area that provided medical attention. He glanced up, seeing that the color of the sky had lightened even more.

Which meant that the titans will be waking up soon.

Levi began to walk a little faster as he made his way down the street, taking a left turn once he reached its end. The medical clinic was the first house at the corner, and he made his way up the small steps that led to it before stopping to knock.

There was no answer.

Levi knocked a couple of times more then waited, growing impatient by the second. They had to be there, there was no way that they weren't home. He tried knocking again but still to no avail.

Not a problem, he thought. He could walk ahead a couple of miles to the other clinic. But that would take him too much time, and he desperately needed every second he could get.

Around ten knocks later, the doors creaked open. An old man –who looked like he was in his late sixties or early seventies- stood there, still dressed in sleeping apparel. "What in the fucking name of Wall Maria-" The man froze as his gaze landed on Levi, who stood there with an eyebrow raised.

"Well aren't you a ball of sunshine in the morning?" Levi said, reaching out to open the door even further and letting himself in.

The man blinked, then his eyes widened, "R-Rivaille?" His features paled, as if he had just seen a ghost.

"No, the tooth fairy," Levi said as he glanced around the room, looking for the supplies.

"W-What are you doing here?" The man asked, stepping inside and letting the door closed. "I haven't seen you in years, son-" He paused again, his jaw dropping, "Why are you wearing the Recon Corps uniform? Did you steal it?"

Levi glanced at the man and scowled, "Ha ha, I see you haven't lost your retarded sense of humor," he said, "I'm not here to chat, I'm here for supplies."

The man's expression changed suddenly into one of concern, "Why? Are you hurt?"

Levi shook his head, "One of my soldiers is," he said, "An operation needs to be performed so he can get well again."

"Y-Your soldiers?" The old man shook his head, "I-Alright you can explain later, where is the man? Bring him to me." The man walked over to a set of shelves across the room.

"He's outside the walls."

Pausing again, the old man turned to look at Levi. "Outside? You mean the Corps are still in mission? Then what are _you _doing here?"

"I just literally told you why a minute ago," Levi said, scowling again, "I heard memory rots by age, but damn Karl you need serious help if yours is that bad."

"Still the same smartass you were when you were thirteen," Karl said, "You know what I meant, the Corps never came back to get supplies in the middle of a mission. If you're injured or ill, you bite it and that's that."

"I made an exception," Levi retorted, "Now please just get me what I need, I need-"

"You? Making an exception?" Karl cut him off, "You risked your life and rode all the way here, obviously through nighttime, to help out someone? You?"

"Why are you having such a hard time grasping the concept that I'm here?" Levi asked, feeling a little nervous though he had no idea why, "I don't have time for a good old chat, just get me the supplies."

Karl looked at him and smiled then, "I never thought the day would come," he said.

"What day? What the hell are you blabbing about old man?"

Karl shook his head then, the smile never leaving his face. He turned around and opened the cabinet before him, "What do you need?"

Levi recited the list of supplies Hanji had told him about earlier, and Karl took out a makeshift paper bag and began putting the supplies in.

"Metallic cutting tools?" He glanced up at Levi, "Do you have a certified physician with you?"

Levi shrugged, "We have people who know their shit."

"Levi.. these operations are dangerous, the success rate of something like that would be-"

"Just let me worry about it, okay?" Levi snapped, "Give me the damn supplies."

Karl finished packing the supplies for the Corporal, then handed them to him. "I actually don't think I've ever seen you this worried before."

Levi snatched the bag from Karl's hand, "It was a metaphorical expression," he spat, feeling the same sense of nervousness again. What the hell was wrong with him? He didn't even remember the last time he felt nervous. "How much do I owe you?"

Karl smiled then, leaning against the cabinet, "Nothing, it was good to see you, Levi," he said.

Levi nodded, "Er-Thanks, Karl," he said, turning around to leave the room. "See you later."

"Levi," Karl called after him as soon as he opened the door, "Be careful, other injuries exist in the world besides the physical ones."

Levi snorted, "Bye Karl," he said, stepping outside and letting the door close behind him. What the hell was up with that old man? Has he gone completely mental? And what was up with him? Why did he suddenly feel so anxious? He paused for a second, taking a deep breath before turning the corner again to make his way back to his horse.

A shadow across the street caught his eye, and he glanced around. The streets were virtually empty except for him. Maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him. He started making his way down the street again before the shadow caught his attention once more.

Was someone following him? Levi turned around quickly then, once more seeing only the buildings around him. Great. Not only was he getting all flustered, but he was also seeing things. Perfect morning really.

However, the third time Levi sensed movement, he saw more than a shadow. A small piece of green fabric was visible behind the walls of one of the houses, and Levi stuck to the shade before slowly approaching it.

Then, with one swift move, Levi was holding the person that was watching him by the collar of their shirts, slamming them against the wall. "What business-" His sentence died out as he recognized the now terrified face of the one he captured.

"Jean Kirschtein?"

* * *

_Note: I'd like to thank everyone for taking the time to read this story, your encouragement means a great deal to me. The updates won't be as frequent from now on as I have some real-life complications, but I will try to update as frequently as I can. Thank you so much for your support and reviews! You have no idea how happy they make me!_


	8. Chapter 8

**HUGE THANKS AS ALWAYS TO JEAGER'S PARADISE FOR INPUT AND SUPPORT.**

* * *

**Part 8: **

_Levi starts to feel more confused as _

_his journey continues. _

* * *

"How is he now?"

Hanji stood by the side of Eren's bed as Mikasa sat on the edge of it. Her fingers lightly touched the back of Eren's neck, then immediately pulled back. She frowned and glanced at Hanji, "Not much improvement."

Eren's eyes were closed as his head was leaned back against the bed post. His body was motionless save for the slow rise and fall of his chest, and the stack of pillows were the only thing supporting him up. Hanji had said earlier that he needed to be in a sitting position as that was better for his blood circulation, and Eren managed to maintain that on his own for a while before slipping out of consciousness for the fourth time. They had decided there was no point of waking him up anymore, since staying awake was taking a toll on him and his body no longer had enough energy to sustain the healing process anyways.

Hanji looked at Mikasa and sighed. The girl had deep black circles around her eyes, and her hair looked much fuzzier than normal. She was even starting to pale. "Maybe you should rest for a bit, Mikasa, it'll probably be another hour or so before we expect Levi back."

Mikasa shook her head, her gaze was fixed on Eren. She dipped a white cloth in the water basin beside Eren's bed and placed it on his neck. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Hanji asked, crouching down on her knees beside the bed to change Eren's bandages. The bleeding had lessened, but it hadn't quite stopped yet. Hanji wasn't sure how he still managed to breathe after losing so much blood, but she figured his blood cells regenerated faster due to his titan abilities.

But they were no where near fast enough in his current state.

A metal clanking noise sounded across the room, and Hanji looked up to find Sasha standing by the door. She was holding the rusted jar of water they have been using all night, and she looked half-asleep. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun and she was constantly rubbing her eye. "I-" Sasha yawned, stretching her arm back, "The commander told me to bring down some water here-"

Sasha's words died out on her lips once she saw Eren, and her eyes widened. "W-What happened to him?!" She walked over to the bed faster now, setting the jar down on the table. "How did he get hurt like that? Why isn't he healing? Isn't he a titan-"

Mikasa lifted her hand up then, closing her four fingers down on her thumb as an indication for Sasha to stop talking. "He was injured earlier when the incident with Petra's patrol happened," Mikasa muttered. She ran her hand through her hair, resting it on her head for a moment as her eyebrows furrowed together slightly. Hanji suspected that she was probably starting to suffer from a headache.

"Is anyone else awake?" Hanji asked, looking at Sasha whose expression was a mixture of confusion and slight fear.

"N-No, I woke up early to look for foo-to get ready for training," she said, looking away from Eren then. "The commander saw me and told me to take the water downstairs and tell you that he needs to talk to you."

Hanji sighed and nodded, "Okay," she said, standing up after having changed the outer coat on Eren's bandages. "Stay here until I'm back."

Sasha opened her mouth to protest before her gaze flickered back to Eren, then she shut it again and nodded.

Mikasa continued to press the cloth onto Eren's neck, her other hand positioned on his mid-back. Armin was sitting across the room on the floor, flipping through Hanji's notes to look for anything that could be useful to them. Hanji noted that he kept glancing out the window every once in a while and sighing.

She turned around and headed outside the cell, closing the door carefully behind her. Once she reached the stairs she stretched her arms behind her back, taking a deep breath. The atmosphere inside the cell was filled with tension that was almost tangible to her, not to mention the tension she felt herself.

_What was going on inside of you, Eren? _The question kept repeating itself over and over in her mind. The lack of their knowledge about titans was frustrating, yet somehow fascinating at the same time. It was just an entirely different species, though humanoid-looking, they shared only but a few traits with humans.

Then there was Eren. Somehow a surviving combination of the traits they could understand and the traits they could not. He was truly one of a kind, she thought, an unexpected occurrence. Levi was right; he was too valuable to lose.

But even Hanji had to admit that Eren's ability to shift into a titan isn't the only reason she didn't want him to die. He was a nice kid, with so much potential to become great even if he didn't have that incredible power. Levi knew that well.

Maybe Levi knew that a little_ too _well.

There was something odd about the way Levi was acting ever since that patrol. Frankly, Hanji was getting the hint of that odd vibe from Levi ever since that court day when he came in contact with Eren. She couldn't quite place her finger on it, but it felt that something has changed about him. It was hardly noticeable, as his daily habits and his attitude towards everyone didn't change.

However, it was something about the way he was around Eren-

"Hanji."

Hanji blinked, focusing her gaze just in time before she ran face-first into Irvin, who was waiting for her at the top of the staircase.

"I-Sorry, I got distracted," she said, stepping back.

"Nevermind about that. How is he?" Irvin asked.

Hanji frowned slightly, "He's not improving."

Irvin let out a deep breath, "I suppose I didn't expect otherwise," he said.

"Levi should be back soon," Hanji said, glancing outside the window in the hall for a moment, "He's been gone for over two hours now. I told them that we still don't expect him for a while, but don't _you_ think it's been a bit too long?"

"It would be a bit too long," Irvin said, leaning back against the wall. Hanji could see dark circles formed under his eyes too, and she knew he didn't get much sleep either. "If it weren't for the fact that he took the fifth road from the 34th map outline."

Hanji raised an eyebrow, before her mouth gaped a little, "What? Why would he do that?" she asked, "Why didn't he take the straight road? We're on the outskirts of the Wall he could have crossed through to the gates in half an hour that way."

Irvin shook his head, "The fifth road does take longer due to the fact that it's a curve, but going around and through the forest provides a good cover from the titans and a perfect maneuver gear environment."

"He could have made a better time if he took the straight road whilst it was still night atleast," Hanji said, "Titans aren't active during the night."

"We don't have enough evidence to say that this is more than a theory, though," Irvin replied, "He was smart not to risk that. Besides, he's going to have to go through the forest now anyways."

Irvin looked up at the window then, and Hanji followed his line of gaze. She locked her jaw, her chest started to feel a little constricted.

"Because the sun is rising."

* * *

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Levi gripped Jean by the collars of his cape, pinning him against the wall. The moment he recognized the recruit, his entire mind went blank with the initial shock. Then it was as if the gates of hell have been opened and a million of panicked and rushed thoughts now raced within the compartments of his brain.

"C-Corporal, I can explain-" Jean was interrupted by Levi shoving him against the wall again, his grip tightened on the collars of the cape so that the clasp was digging into Jean's throat.

"How did you get here? Are you alone? Are there others?" Levi could almost feel the fabric of the cape starting to rip apart from the metallic clasp under his grip. "Did something else happen to Eren?" He hissed the last question, his eyes narrowed as he stared right up into Jean's.

"I-Corporal." Jean's face turned a bright red, along with his ears. He coughed, the vein in the middle of his forehead slightly popping out. "C-Can't breathe, sir."

Levi loosened his grip on the clasp, but he didn't let go completely just yet.

"Tell. Me. _Now_."

"I-I wouldn't know if something happened to Eren or not, sir," Jean said, coughing again as his skin began slowly turning to its normal color, "I have been following after you ever since you left the headquarters."

Levi was taken aback, but no change showed in his expression. Ever since he left the HQ? How did this guy manage to tail him for over two hours without him noticing? That can't be possible.

"How did you follow me?" Levi let go of Jean's collar and took a step back. Jean staggered slightly before he regained his balance.

"I stuck to the shadows away from the light your torch cast," Jean said, touching his hand to his throat and running his finger over the small cut that the clasp has formed. "I stayed around four or five meters behind you at all times, and since you didn't expect someone to be following you, there was no way you could notice. I didn't even make a sound, it was genius really-"

"Why?" Levi said, interrupting his words again. He remembered someone saying that this one had a knack for being talkative when the topic was himself. His expression still remained neutral, but he clenched his hand into a fist. How did this kid manage to pull off something like that? Was Levi that unaware of his surroundings? That didn't make sense, he was alert the entire way here. He was solely focused on the road.

_Atleast he thought he was. _

"It didn't seem like a mission one man should go on alone," Jean said, shrugging, "It was obvious you wouldn't have accepted a direct offer for me to accompany you."

"Did you just question my ability?" Levi raised an eyebrow, his gaze locking with Jean's once more.

Jean's eyes widened a little bit, "What? No, sir! I don't question you," he said, speaking a tad too hastily, "I just-I wanted to be of use. I wanted to help. In case you ran into any titans on the way-"

"You're barely a graduate, Kirschtein," Levi said, "What kind of help could you possibly provide to me?"

Jean glanced at the ground for a moment, his eyebrows furrowed together before he looked back at Levi. "Two is always better than one, right?"

"Wrong," Levi replied, "One human alone has better chances of evading a titan's attention."

Jean clenched and unclenched his hand, "Look, I'm already here, okay? There's nothing that can be done about that. Just _accept_ it."

Levi raised an eyebrow again, his eye contact with Jean remained unbroken.

"Sir," Jean added, his voice lowered this time.

Levi let out a sigh before slinging the bag he acquired from Karl over his shoulder. "Whatever."

He turned around and began walking down the street again, making his way towards the gates. A few steps down the road, he glanced back out of the corners of his eyes to find Jean still standing in his place, looking down at the ground.

"Did you forget how to walk or something?" He asked, his voice slightly raised so Jean could hear him.

Jean jerked his head up immediately, as if Levi's words just brought him out of a deep line of thought. "I-What, sir?"

"Unless your initial plan was to come to Trost for breakfast and tea, you better get moving now. The sun is already up, we don't have all day."

"You-You want me to come with you, sir?" Jean stared back at Levi with a puzzled expression.

"Feel free to stay here if you wish, but you will be considered a military deserter and punished accordingly."

"Stay? No! I'm going back, ofcourse! I didn't come here to run away from the Corps!"

"Then what the hell are you waiting for?"

"I thought I would just follow after you again.." Jean's words faded out as he saw that Levi's expression was beginning to show his impatience.

"Move. It. Now."

Levi turned around and started walking again, leaving Jean to stare at him in confusion for a second before he half-walked, half-jogged to catch up with him.

* * *

Levi re-fastened the strap that tied the supplies bag to the saddle of his horse for what must have been atleast the fifth time in a window of two minutes. They retrieved their horses from the stables, the guards then informing Levi that Jean had fired a flare around ten minutes after Levi walked off. The idiots somehow bought it when Jean said he was here with Levi and fell back a bit, and they pointed out to him the direction Levi had taken.

As if the Recon Corps members would allow the gate to be opened twice in the matter of fifteen minutes. As if the Recon Corps just walk in and out of the walls like they're walking in and out of a house. He wondered why it came as a surprise to everyone that their race was going extinct. In fact, it came as a surprise to _him_ that they managed to survive for that long.

But was he really in a position to criticize the Garrison members at the moment? When he had failed to notice the fact that there was movement other than him in the forest all night? Not to mention that he didn't take notice of the smoke flare Jean had fired. Was he just that focused on getting the supplies? Or was it the fact that he wasn't focused at all?

He had no idea what the hell was happening to him, and he didn't like it one bit.

Levi glanced at the recruit to find him a couple of feet behind, leaning intently against the neck of his horse and narrowing his eyes to focus on the road. He rolled his eyes and looked back at his own path. Kirschtein needed to pick up speed, he didn't have time to wait around for him.

The trees were coming into view when Levi looked up to see that the sun was now hanging in the middle of the morning sky. There was not a single cloud in sight, and he could feel the sun's rays burning against his cheek.

_Great timing for clear weather. Just magnificent._

And as if on cue, Levi heard a rustling sound to his left as soon as they entered the forest. A shadow was growing longer on the grass as a figure stepped out from behind the trees.

A 7-meter class.

Levi narrowed his eyes at the figure before reaching out for his blades. "Watch out for the horse, I'll only be a minute," he shouted back, then kicked off the back of his horse as he pulled the trigger on his ropes. A rope extended and caught on one of the higher tree branches, and Levi was in midair. He flew across, pulling his blades out from their place on his maneuver gear and aiming for the titan's neck.

However, just before he reached it, the titan staggered then fell forward. Levi raised an eyebrow in confusion as he landed on a tree branch. His gaze flickered down to the ground to find that Jean had ridden around the titan and slit its ankle with his blades.

Levi cursed under his breath before pulling the trigger on his gear again. The hook in his ropes planted themselves in the back of the titan's head, and Levi landed on the titan's back, carving a large chunk of flesh out of its neck before jumping to the ground.

Once his ropes retracted back into place, he stepped away from the steaming body of the fallen titan and moved towards Jean.

"What in hell's name was that little stunt?"

Jean took a step back as Levi approached him, his mouth gaping slightly as he sensed the fury that seemed to be emitting from Levi's body. "I-was-um-trying to help take it out faster, immobilize it, so it can't move away from your reach."

"Am I missing something here? I am your superior, I'm the one who decides who needs help and when," Levi spat, "You were in no position to disobey direct orders."

"B-But-"

"No excuses," Levi said, "This incident won't be taken lightly, you will have things to answer for when we're back at the HQ." Levi started moving back to his horse who had stopped running, years of being used by him had taught it when to hold its ground and wait for Levi.

"I get it, only Eren can get away with disobeying orders," Jean muttered after him, unaware that the Corporal would be able to hear him.

Levi paused then, a sudden wave of anger thrashed through him. He turned around to face Jean, "Run that by me again?" His tone was lowered but firm, the look in his eyes was lethal.

Jean almost gasped, his jaw dropping, "I-What-I didn't mean anything I was just-"

"Eren Jaeger didn't get away with disobeying orders. Eren Jaeger got mortally wounded." Levi moved towards Jean then, his hand hovering over his blade, "Do you wish to share that same fate?"

Jean shook his head then, "No-I didn't mean-I was just, it was a joke I didn't-Don't take it seriously!"

"A joke?" Levi's hand tightened around the hilt of his blade, "Not only did you disobey orders to get here, but also you disobeyed direct orders after you got here. And now you're telling a goddamn joke? Do you have some sort of death wish?"

Jean raised both his arms up, "I-I swear I only intended to help, I just wanted to be of use!"

Levi could see a pure look of fear in Jean's eyes, and he scoffed inwardly, unaware of the fact that the look in his eyes was bordering on wild. Who did that recruit think he was? Who was he to speak to Levi in that manner? And about Eren?

_And about Eren..? What..?_

Levi felt that odd sense of nervousness wash over him again all of a sudden, and he dropped his arm to his side. Without another word to Jean, he turned on his heel and made his way back to the horse. His head felt as if it were about to explode at any given moment, and he couldn't keep track of even half of the thoughts going on inside it. Eren? Since when did hearing something about Eren start getting to him? Since when had things started to make him feel angry?

He tried to clear his mind as he got back on his horse, glancing at Kirschtein to make sure that the recruit was on his horse as well before riding out. In all his life, Levi had never felt this confused before. There was always a clear picture painted infront of him of what he was supposed to do and how he was supposed to do it.

Now that picture felt blurred and distorted. As if his role in life wasn't certain anymore. As if his path was no longer set in concrete.

The two men rode the rest of the way in silence, increasing their speed in an opposite direction whenever they heard a noise. Levi was going faster than he did on his way towards Trost now that he could see better, and within a little over an hour the HQ was visible.

As soon as the building came into sight, Levi increased his speed even more. He knew the horse was at its limit, but he bid it to push itself just a bit further. He already let more time go to waste than he should have.

Levi didn't wait for the horse to come to a complete stop before untying the supply bag and jumping down from its back. "Let the horses into the stables," he said to Jean, who was falling a bit behind him but still within earshot.

The HQ front doors burst open yet, and Hanji came running through towards him. A smile of relief spread across her lips.

"Levi! You're back! We were getting so worried!"

Levi raised up the bag that he was holding in his hand as he made his way towards Hanji and the HQ, "I have the supplies, did you prepare the operations room?"

Hanji's smile faded then, and she gazed away from Levi.

"I-Levi, Eren he's-" She swallowed slightly, her eyes began to shine.

* * *

_Thank you all for continuing to read this story. Your support means everything. _


	9. Chapter 9

**HUGE THANKS AS ALWAYS TO JEAGER'S PARADISE FOR INPUT AND SUPPORT.**

* * *

**Part 9:**

_The Corporal's confusion and_

_anxiety intensify._

* * *

"We can hardly hear his heartbeat," Hanji cleared her now constricted throat before continuing, "His breathing is shallow and uneven, we think that-That these are his last moments-"

Levi had stopped listening. A hardly audible heartbeat is still a heartbeat. A shallow and uneven breathing is still breathing. He walked past Hanji and through the closed doors. The Corporal felt as if he was no longer in control of his movements, as if he was attached to invisible strings that directed his actions. His surroundings were tuned out, both visual and auditory. He wasn't even aware of the fact that Hanji and Jean were following close behind him, or that Hanji was still speaking to him.

"Levi, what are you doing-" Hanji reached out to stop Levi as he picked up his pace, taking the stairs that led to Eren's room two at a time. She could have been speaking another language for all he cared. He wouldn't have even noticed if she weren't here.

Hell, the entire planet could be rolling off its axis right now and he still wouldn't even give it a moment's thought. No, his thoughts weren't his anymore.

The metallic door clanked loudly against the wall as Levi kicked it open. Anger was so deeply interwoven within him before he could even register it. Anger at the damn titans who attacked the patrol. Anger at the damn road for being too long. Anger at the horse for not being fast enough.

But most of all, anger at each and every single soul that stood in the room with him.

Mikasa had her head buried in Eren's chest, her hand closed in a fist around the material of his shirt right above his shoulder. Armin stood by the other side of the bed, his fingers were intertwined with Eren's as tears streamed freely down his face. Sasha stood a bit further, her eyes reddened and her hand over her mouth with a shocked expression.

And amidst it all, there was Eren. He was lying down on the bed, his injured arm dangled against the right side of it. His eyes were closed and his face was almost as pale as the white pillow on which his head rested.

But his chest was still rising. The movement itself was hardly noticeable, but there it was.

In that moment, Levi felt all the anger he has ever built up within him against this world re-surface all at once. His hands were clenched into fists as he stood in the middle of the room, the supplies bag slung over his shoulders.

"You host a funeral for a man who is still alive," he said, causing everyone in the room to freeze. His tone was like daggers being thrust into all of their backs. His eyes were narrowed and ablaze with a raw fury none of them had witnessed before.

Mikasa was the first to look up, her eyes were bloodshot and the black circles around them have become even deeper. "H-how dare you-"

"How dare I?" Levi interrupted her, his gaze was now fixed on her and his eyebrows furrowed together as his anger intensified. "How dare _I_? When you are the one who has given up on who you call family?"

"I didn't give up!" Mikasa said, her tone rising. The entire room was suddenly charged with an air of strong tension. Armin, Sasha, Jean and Hanji stared ahead, their gazes shifting from Mikasa to Levi. The two that never showed a hint of emotion on their faces were now as close to living impersonations of anger as there ever could be.

"You are not doing anything! That means giving up!" Levi shouted back, his tone was heavier than normal, spiked with a razor-sharp undercurrent. "You are accepting his fate as if it were just a routine thing! As if he were nothing but a random stranger you encountered in war!"

"You have no idea what you're talking about, you have no idea how I feel!" Mikasa stood up then, the black of her irises seemed to darken. "I would give my life if it meant Eren being okay again, I would give everything!"

"Then prove it!" Levi snapped back, walking towards the bed and dropping the supply bag at their feet. "Prove that you're willing to do _anything_."

"L-Levi," Hanji started, her expression still one of shock, "I-We don't even know if we have enough time to move him to the operation room-"

"We know we don't have enough time to speculate," Levi said, cutting her off as well. What was the matter with everyone? Could they not see the idiocy of wasting time speaking about how little time there is?

Or was it really a lost cause-No. No it wasn't. He can't think that way. Eren didn't think that way when he risked everything to save him.

"Pick this bag up," he pointed to Mikasa, who was still clearly fuming with anger but was no longer shouting. Levi then turned to face Hanji, "Prepare the empty room right up the stairs for operation, it's already clean. All you have to do is prepare the bed."

Hanji's lips parted slightly, she was about to protest when Jean placed his hand on her shoulder lightly, causing her to turn his attention to him. He shook his head, "Come on," he said, "We just got orders." His gaze met hers for a moment before Hanji bit her lip, and turned to rush up the stairs alongside him.

Levi glanced back at Mikasa, "You and the blonde, take the supplies upstairs and set them up. I'll carry Eren."

"S-Sir, are you sure that's a good idea?" Armin started, breaking out of his initial shock and wiping his tears with the back of his hand, "He's not that light, maybe I should help-"

Levi raised his hand up to stop Armin from talking on, "Go, you'll be the one performing this operation with Hanji, you need to prepare too. Clean up the supplies and wash your hands, go." The Corporal's tone was firm as he spoke, and his words held an aura of authority.

Armin nodded; he knew he shouldn't speak another word after Levi has finished his. There was something about the Corporal, not all captains knew how to issue a proper and non-negotiable command, but Rivaille wasn't like all captains. Armin started to feel a little more assured than earlier. Just a little bit more hopeful.

Maybe, maybe it wasn't too late.

* * *

"Quit that."

Mikasa was leaning against the door frame outside of the room they had set up for Eren's operation. After cleaning the nightstand thoroughly and positioning the supplies that Armin washed on it, Hanji had asked her to wait outside. She told her that it wasn't good for their concentration or for Eren to have too many people around during the operation.

"Sorry," Jean muttered, stilling his fingers that have been continuously tapping against the window for the past couple of minutes. Mikasa rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.

How the hell was the Corporal allowed to stay in the room but not her? How long have that guy even known Eren? A few months? Mikasa had been his family for years now. He had been all she has all along, and she had been all he had. Sure, Armin was there. But Armin was their friend. Armin wasn't their family. She knew Armin cared for Eren too, but not like her. No one could possibly care for Eren like she did. That kind of feeling, that kind of need to protect, that kind of need to always look after Eren no matter what. These kinds of things only existed within her. She was the one who vowed to always stay by Eren's side.

So why was she the one asked to step outside? It wasn't _fair._

"Mikasa?"

Mikasa snapped out of her daze, re-focusing her vision to glance at the figure before her. It was Sasha, holding a brown wooden cup in her hand. "Do you want some water?"

Mikasa shook her head and glanced aside, only to find Connie standing across the hallway. "I-Hey-We just came to check on Eren," he said, "Any news?"

Mikasa shook her head again, this time directing her gaze to the floor. She had no idea how everyone even managed to have a drive for conversation at a time like this.

"You told him? Sasha you weren't supposed to do that!" Jean said, noting Connie's arrival as well and narrowing his eyes slightly in Connie's direction.

"Woa-I'm not going to tell anyone, okay? I'm just here to be supportive," Connie said, taking a slight step back.

"I knew the commander shouldn't have trusted you with this, Sasha," Jean said, scowling.

"Hey! He wouldn't have had to trust me if you were trustworthy in the first place!" Sasha replied, her tone rising a little bit, "You're the one who walked out on them in the middle of the night."

Mikasa looked up then, her gaze shifting to Jean, "Where did you go?" She had completely forgotten about Jean's disappearance earlier. Frankly, she didn't care much who was there or who wasn't, if she could have then she would have taken care of Eren all by herself.

"You don't know?" Sasha looked at her, then shook her head. "That brat over there snuck out after the Corporal."

Mikasa raised an eyebrow, "You followed him?"

Jean's face began to turn a slight shade of pink, "I-Yeah," he said, his voice lowered now.

"Why?" Mikasa asked. She knew why the Corporal went after the supplies, but why would Jean also risk his life for something like that? Last time she checked, Jean didn't even get along with Eren.

"Because, he looked like he needed help."

"Help? The Corporal? From you?" Sasha almost laughed, if it weren't for the fact that Mikasa glanced at her out of the corner of her eyes, causing Sasha to step back and the laugh to die out.

Jean scowled again, "Two is always better than one," he said, "I just wanted to do something, okay? Drop it."

"Still, that's not a good reason." Mikasa said, causing the color in Jean's face to deepen even more.

"It was a promise," Jean muttered under his breath, his face now a bright red. He sat back down on the floor and glanced away from everyone.

"A promise?" Sasha asked, looking at him. Mikasa didn't remove her gaze from Jean either. There was a sudden shift in his demeanor that she couldn't quite explain, but she wasn't expecting it.

"Before Le-The Corporal left, he promised Eren that he'd come back," Jean muttered again, still avoiding eye contact with those around him. "I've already seen first-hand what failing to follow through with that kind of promise is like, I just didn't want to see it happen again."

The three soldiers fell silent after hearing Jean's words. Connie knotted his eyebrows together in confusion, seemingly not grasping what Jean meant. Sasha gaped at him for a second before hastily nodding her head down and looking away.

Mikasa didn't exactly know what to say, she had never seen Jean that way before. Granted, she didn't exactly keep track of Jean's actions, but he never struck her as the guy who would have those kinds of thoughts.

_Or the guy who would be carrying around that kind of weight on his shoulders. _

A promise. Jean was right. The Corporal did make a promise to Eren, she had forgotten about that part as well amidst her constant worrying about Eren's state. She felt her heart clench, was there still hope? Was the Corporal going to follow through with his promise and help Eren?

Eren.

Even earlier, when they thought his breathing was coming to a stop, she didn't still accept the idea of him being gone. She felt like that wasn't real, yet she couldn't help but cry remembering the first time she thought she'd lost him.

And she remembered that wasn't the first time she'd almost given up either. She felt the sting of tears in the back of her eyes again as she saw a younger Eren in her mind's eye. Yelling at her to fight. Yelling at her not to give up.

_I'm sorry, Eren. I won't give up hope, just don't leave us._

* * *

"Levi, just stand back, please," Hanji said, stepping infront of the Corporal. She had just washed her hand and so she raised them up and close to her to avoid touching anything and making them dirty again.

Gritting down on his teeth, Levi took a step back. Hanji had been telling him to stand at the corner of the room, only to approach whenever he's asked to hand either her or Armin something. He had managed to keep his distance for a while before he found himself inching closer again, looking at the body of the boy he just set on the small bed.

Levi didn't remember ever being more nervous than he was carrying Eren up the stairs. The boy's body was completely limp in his arms, yet his muscles weighed more than Levi expected. Eren clearly was more built than he looked, and Levi sighed in annoyance at that thought. What business was it to him whether Eren was built or not? The irrationality of his thoughts had made him even more anxious as he carried Eren to the operations room, holding his body close to him so as not to drop him.

Up close, the boy looked even paler. His lips had a blue-ish hue over them, and his chest was hardly rising or falling. Levi had gone faster then, not wanting to be responsible for any more time waste. He was almost running by the time he reached the room, and his heartbeat was rapid. It has been a long time since any sort of physical activity has exhausted him that much, and Levi realized that stress was starting to get to him.

Stress. Another word he thought would never be associated with him.

"Levi, will you hand me the medium-sized cutting tool over there?" Hanji pointed at the table, not looking up from Eren's body. They had set him down so he was lying on his stomach, his chin resting against the edge of the bed so he wouldn't suffocate. Armin had measured and marked the exact spot where they will need to be cutting to avoid the fatal area on Eren's neck.

Levi picked up the tool and handed it to Hanji, almost dropping it in the process. He hadn't realized that his hands were shaking up until now, and he cursed himself inwardly.

_Get a fucking grip, damn it. Stop this._

Since when did he get so damn worried about that brat anyways? Since when did his thought process become so crippled with worry?

Since when exactly, had Levi started caring so much about Eren Jaeger?

The thoughts didn't come as a shock to him, which in itself was a reason to be shocked. Confusion clouded over his mind again as he attempted to process the new wave of feelings that had just hit him, a wave of feelings for which he didn't even know a name.

"Levi, the cotton towels, hurry!" Hanji's voice snapped Levi back to action, and he shook his head to clear it. There would be time to decipher his emotions later, after the reason for their existence was safe.

Levi handed Hanji the towels and she brought them to Eren's neck, wiping the stream of blood that started pouring out once the cut was made. Armin was right, the boy was suffering from internal bleeding.

The question now was, how were they going to go about stopping it? They can't just leave his neck open until all the concentrated blood in that area pours out, because more blood would fill its place and the process would continue until Eren was completely drained.

They needed to undo whatever was causing the pressure on Eren's nerves. Levi leaned forward then, and his eyes widened. Just as in a titan's body, Eren had a cluster of veins and nerves at his neck.

"The skin is regenerating!" Hanji exclaimed, and Levi noted that the cut Hanji had made in Eren's neck was beginning to close over.

"W-What does that mean?" Levi asked.

"It means, that the concentrated blood is no longer forming pressure over whatever nerve is responsible for his abilities," Armin said, his gaze fixed on the back of Eren's neck.

"Wait..So that was it? That's all that needed to be done?"

Armin shook his head, "No, we still don't know what caused the injury yet, we need to cut his neck again."

Hanji bit her lip, "But now that the regenerating is back, wouldn't that make our process more difficult?"

"That's why we need to move faster," Armin said, "Sir, could you please pass me the razor-shaped tool?"

Levi started to feel a tad lightheaded. Whatever was going didn't make any sense to him, but it didn't feel good.

He handed Armin the tools he requested, furrowing his eyebrows slightly at them. A bunch of metal sticks, that's what they appeared like. He couldn't even remember their names anymore, and they didn't look useful.

Armin took the tools and formed another cut in Eren's neck on the opposite side of the former cut, and there was a minor clanking sound. Armin furrowed his eyebrows, leaning as close as he could to Eren's neck and slowing his pace slightly as he finished the cut. Another clanking sound caught Levi's attention, but he could not see past Hanji and Armin as they were both leaning over Eren's body.

"Unbelievable.." Hanji muttered, "How..What is that..?"

"I don't-Sir, the tweezers! Please!"

The urgency of Armin's tone cleared Levi's confusion. He grabbed the tweezers, and handed them over to Armin, trying to get a look at Eren's neck but still being unable to.

Armin held the tweezers and lowered them to Eren's neck, a moment later, he raised his hand up. Between the arms of the tweezers, a thin metallic strand was held.

"What is that?" Hanji asked, her eyes widened as she stared at it.

"I have no idea..It appears to be..broken off of something," Armin said, "I don't understand."

Now that they were standing a bit straighter, Levi had a clear view of Eren's body again. He glanced at his neck to see the skin closing in once more, faster than the previous time.

Hanji looked down at Eren's neck, "It healed," she said, "Again. Do we cut once more?"

Armin frowned, "I-I don't know, I don't think we should," he said, "We-I think we removed the object responsible for the clot."

"So is that it?" Levi asked, looking at Eren's still limp body over the bed.

Armin bit down on his lip, "We can't be sure," he said, "I think there's nothing more we can do. Cutting the neck again might exhaust Eren's healing abilities."

"So..What now?" Levi asked, his tone growing impatient, "Did it work? Did it not work?"

"I don't know.. Eren's body should be in the process of amending the damaged veins and nerves, regenerating itself," Armin said, "But if it isn't..Then we have changed nothing..And his heart would stop within minutes."

* * *

Author's note: Thank you all for your continued review and for bearing with me all this time. I can't find the words to describe how much that means. I'll try to update as frequently as possible. Thank you so much.


	10. Chapter 10

**HUGE THANKS TO JEAGER'S PARADISE FOR AMAZING INPUT AND HELP. THIS WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE IF IT WEREN'T FOR THEM.**

* * *

**Part 10:**

_Eren's fate is finally_

_revealed._

* * *

"What do you mean you failed?"

A blonde-haired girl, seemingly in her early twenties, was sitting on a leather chair next to a dark wooden desk. Across from her sat an old man with somewhat lengthy brown hair and a gut that extended almost half a feet infront of him. He had taken off his glasses and set them on the table, and his eyes were fixed on her.

The blonde shrugged, "I mean, I failed," she said, her tone steady and calm, "The boy is still alive."

"I don't understand," The man said, his voice had risen, "How could you fail? Your task was simple."

"There were complications," the blonde replied, her tone unwavering. Her eyes didn't meet the man's, and she was beginning to grow annoyed with this conversation. The man clenched his fist and slammed it on the table, causing her to look at him whilst her expression remained the same.

"Complications? Am I just supposed to accept that sort of excuse? There was a plan, Leonhardt!" The older man's face was growing redder, his forehead creased.

The girl looked away from him again, focusing her sight on the glass window behind him. "I wasn't the only one involved in that plan."

The man narrowed his eyes at her, the wrinkles in his forehead creasing even more. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means," the girl's gaze shifted to the ceiling, lazily skimming over the surroundings of the room, "Reiner Braun didn't go through with his part of the plan. He was supposed to lead Eren through the forest on their way back, where I would have been waiting."

The man raised an eyebrow, "I thought Braun was the one who made sure Eren went out on that rescue squad when the Recon Corps' patrol ran into trouble. The trouble we had previously planned."

"Eren would have gone even if Reiner wasn't there, he's part of the special squad, it's their job to deal with emergency situations," she said, "Reiner's part was supposed to be leading Jaeger away from the others and through the trees amidst all the chaos."

The old man ran a hand through his greased hair, leaning back in his chair. "And what happened?"

"The boy ran away from the soldiers and turned into a titan."

"If the boy had turned, that means it would have been easier for you to use 3D maneuver gear and attack his titan form, does it not?"

"I tried to, I thought I had him," The blonde said, putting her hand over her mouth as she yawned.

"Care to explain how you could probably miss after all your training?" The man said, narrowing his eyes as his gaze remained fixed on her.

"I flew in after him as he ran," the girl said, beginning to sound exasperated. She reached out for the hilt of her blade and yanked it out, causing the man to tense in his seat.

"I swiped down, and missed because he was going too fast," she lifted up the blade. The metal caught the gleam of the sun rays streaming in from the window. Its edge had bumps on it; part of the metal was bent. "His skin was toughened, the blade broke off and he was out of my range before I could strike again."

"You told me that out of the titan-shifters you were the only one with the ability to crystallize your skin," The man relaxed slightly when the blonde placed her blade back into position.

"Up until a couple of months ago, we didn't even know another titan-shifter existed," she said, absentmindedly curling a strand of her hair around her finger. She shifted in her seat, sitting up straighter.

The man leaned forward again, resting his elbows against the wooden desk. "Annie, don't try to convince me that your failure is excused," he said, "Bertholdt attracted the titans to the patrol, Reiner ensured Jaeger's presence, you _didn't_ finish him."

Annie met the man's gaze then, "No matter how many times you repeat it, nothing will change the fact that he's still alive," she said, "So either you have another plan to attack, or let me get back to my post outside this castle."

"How sure are you that the boy survived?" The man asked.

"Last time I saw him was right after the attack, he was injured but breathing when one of the recruits carried him in. Two hours later Reiner snuck outside and told me that Eren was awake, and that I should get out of there before he remembers anything."

"So you don't know for a fact that he's still alive at the moment?"

"I have as much confirmation of his livelihood as I do of Reiner's or Bertholdt's, I'm not with them right now I can't be 100% sure of anything."

The man rolled his eyes then, clenching his fist, "I'm tired of hearing you talk back to me in such manner," he said, "You're dismissed for now, get back to your post and stay there until further notice."

Annie stood up then, adjusting her military police jacket before turning around to leave. She was at the door when the man spoke again.

"Wait. You told me that Eren ran away from the soldiers, how do you propose such a young boy managed to escape when Reiner was with them?"

The corners of Annie's lips went up slightly as she stepped outside, "Maybe Reiner's heart wasn't completely into stopping him."

* * *

_"It's been five minutes, why is there no change?"_

_Armin was holding Eren's wrist then, constantly checking his pulse. "It's still beating, faint but still beating." _

_"Shouldn't he be healed by now? If the operation worked, he should be awake," Hanji said then. Her glasses had slid halfway across her nose, her hair was sticking out of the tie at odd angles, but she hadn't seemed to notice. Her attention was completely fixed on Eren, the tension in her posture was visible. _

_Levi had his hand around the edge of Eren's bed, his grip around the wood tight to the point of his knuckles whitening. His chest ached as if there was another hand gripping his heart in the same manner he gripped the wood. _

_Armin didn't seem to be faring any better than them either. The circles under his eyes were darkened to the point of appearing like someone had smeared his face with coal, and his hand was shaking as he held onto Eren's limp wrist. _

_"The heartbeat it-it's weakening," Armin muttered then, his eyes widened and his hands began shaking even more. "I-" He looked up at Hanji, then Levi. The look in his eyes was one Levi had only seen whenever one of the soldiers came too close to a titan with no way to defend themselves. It was more than a look of fear, it was a look of desperation. _

_No. Levi felt his foothold weaken then and he gripped the wood even tighter, his nails digging into the cracks. It wasn't supposed to fail. His heartbeat quickened as he looked at Eren's still form. The boy looked as if he was merely asleep, if it weren't for the sickly paleness of his skin and the dry crusted blood all over his back and arm. _

_And Levi could no longer see Eren's chest rising or falling. _

_"I-N-I can't feel it-" Armin's voice was a whisper at first, then it rose, "I can't feel IT!"_

_The world didn't stop for Levi, the world began to tumble forward at top speed. The room was spinning rapidly, and his heart threatened to jump out of his chest at the rapid pace of its beating. His vision began to blur, and he moved before he could even register it. He found himself holding Eren's hand in his, his fingers intertwined with Eren's. The boy's hand felt fragile, and his fingers didn't move to close around Levi's. _

_Armin let out a sob then, before covering his face with his hand. Levi didn't even realize he was on his knees, he held onto Eren's hand tightly as the world around him continued to spin. _

_So many words came to his mind and crashed at the tip of his tongue. He was unable to speak, unable to hold onto one thought, unable to move. Everything, everything was done. And it wasn't enough. It all wasn't enough to save him. _

_Why? Why now? When he has spent his entire life accepting the fact that he's a man born to live through war. When he has spent his entire life accepting the fact that people around him will die and that it was inevitable. When he has spent his days since he joined the Recon Corps focusing on only killing as much of the enemy as he could. And now. Now he realizes that there was something else to live for. Now he realizes that this boy, this boy mattered to him. Now he realizes that Eren has become so important to him without him even noticing. _

_And now he loses him. _

_Hanji put her hand on Levi's shoulder lightly, but Levi shrugged her hand off. He buried his face in Eren's shoulder. Never in his life has he felt so weak. Never in his life has he felt just how unfair all of this was. Because he used to be fine. Because he used to know how to get by._

_Because he never realized he wanted more. He never realized there was another reason he watched Eren other than being assigned to by court. He never realized that he loved the way that brat talked back to him. He never realized he loved the way Eren was so ready to carry the burden of humanity's survival. He never realized he loved Eren's stubbornness. He never realized he l- he lo-_

_Loved him. _

_It didn't make any sense to him. It didn't make any sense to him that he managed to fall in love with Eren when he has only known him a few months. It didn't make sense to him that he fell in love at all. _

_And it didn't matter. It didn't matter because Eren would never have the chance to know. It didn't matter because Eren would never have the chance to fight. _

_Levi felt something against his neck then, like the hint of a breeze. He lifted his head and glanced at Eren's face. _

_To find that Eren had his eyes open._

* * *

The sky was outlined with violet hues mixed with a dark orange as the sun continued to disappear behind the horizon, allowing the moon to gradually become visible. It was a quiet day, the weather wasn't as cold and there was barely any wind. Nonetheless, the faint rustling of the trees caused by the occasional breeze stirred Levi out of his momentary sleep.

The corporal half-opened his eyes, feeling slightly sore as a result of accidentally falling asleep in a wooden chair. He looked around, taking a moment to absorb his surroundings and realize he was sitting outside in the balcony. He had his legs up on the fence, one foot resting on the ankle of the other. Sighing, he lowered his legs and sat up straight to stretch his arms.

Exhaustion crept over his muscles, which made that simple movement of stretching an incredibly difficult task. He closed his eyes for a moment, and the first image to flash before them was the sight of Eren when he first carried him into the operation room. Levi felt his chest constrict at the mere thought of it. He was still having a hard time believing what happened.

"Corporal?"

Levi glanced at the entrance of the balcony to find that Eren was standing there. His heart skipped a beat then, and he thought of how close he came to never seeing him again.

The boy was dressed in uniform minus the belts and the gear, there was a bandage on the back of his neck but otherwise his skin looked completely fine. It had regained its previous somewhat tanned color, and his eyes had regained their bright green color.

Eren smiled widely once Levi looked at him, then quickly wiped the smile off his face as the color in his cheeks darkened slightly. "I-I just thought you'd like some water," he said, holding up the cup in his hand.

"What the hell are you doing out of bed?" Levi asked, his gaze meeting Eren's. His expression was a bit more relaxed as he regarded the boy now, his eyes not as harsh as they usually are. "You're supposed to rest for atleast two days."

Eren handed the cup over to Levi, "I-Well, I felt okay so I just wanted-well I didn't find you when I woke up."

Levi took the cup from Eren's hand then took a sip, "That's not an excuse, you're not healthy enough to be out of bed yet," he said. His tone was much less sharp now than it used to be when Eren did something he wasn't supposed to do. It was the first time he talked to the boy since the operation, and he felt that annoying sense of nervousness creep over him again.

"If you didn't want me to get up and look for you, then you should have stayed in the room," Eren muttered, leaning against the fence and crossing his arms over his chest.

It took Levi all he had then to suppress a smile at the boy's words. He rolled his eyes, "I sincerely fail to see how that could be my fault," he said.

"Well you once told me that I have to always stay within a few feet distance from you," Eren said, running a hand through his hair and wincing slightly as his arm still hurt, "Technically, I'm obeying orders."

This time, the corners of Levi's lips went upright slightly, and he shook his head. "Because you're all about obeying orders, aren't you Jaeger?"

When he didn't hear an instant reply, Levi glanced up at Eren to find that the boy was staring at him, his mouth gaped open.

"What?" Levi asked, raising an eyebrow as his gaze met Eren's once more.

"I-" Eren tilted his head to the side, still staring at Levi. "I don't recall seeing you smile before. Except that one time when I had a dr-" The boy's cheeks reddened again and he cleared his throat, letting his sentence die out.

Levi looked away then, attempting to hide another smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth once more. His gaze landed on his boots, and he made a note to himself to polish them before he went to sleep as he hadn't for a couple of days now.

"Is there a law against smiling that I should be aware of?" Levi asked, looking back at Eren. The boy grew even more flustered, his face was tainted with a dark red flush that brought out the color of his lips.

Which was a thought Levi didn't imagine would ever cross his mind.

"N-No-It's just not like you-I mean-It looks good-I-"

Levi ran his hand through his hair, tilting his head so that Eren couldn't see the grin that formed across his face. It was an unfamiliar feeling to him, he didn't remember the last time he couldn't suppress a grin. He couldn't remember the last time he felt this relaxed or relieved.

"You're still hopeless," Levi muttered, shaking his head once more and directing his gaze to the stacks of paper on the table infront of him. He leaned forward to re-arrange them, aligning them on top of eachother.

"What's that?" Eren asked, a little too hastily, as if he was thankful for the opportunity to change the subject.

"Irvin gave me the paperwork to catch up on," Levi said, "Which was the reason I left your room."

"He has you working again so soon?"

Levi shrugged, "It's not like I was the one being operated on."

"But the operation wouldn't have happened if it weren't for you," he said, then paused for a second before speaking again, "I still don't know why you went."

Levi looked up from the stack of papers. Eren's eyes were still fixed on him, and he could almost swear they seemed even brighter than before Eren's got sick. Or maybe it was just his mind playing tricks on him.

"To get the supplies," Levi said, standing up then and straightening out his shirt.

"Why?" Eren asked, his cheeks darkened once more when Levi approached him. He stood about half a feet away from Eren then, not entirely sure why he got up in the first place.

"Because you needed them," Levi said, his voice lowered, "You would have died otherwise."

"That's not a good enough reason for you to risk your life," Eren said, his gaze strayed down for a moment, and then met Levi's again.

"No, you don't get to argue with me about this like I did with you earlier," Levi looked at Eren, "It's done, it's past us, just let it go."

"It's not fair that you got to yell at me for saving your life but I don't get to do the same."

Levi narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze still on Eren's, "You want to _yell_ at me, Jaeger?"

Eren's eyes widened, "Wh-No, I was just-" He shut his lips together tightly, then spoke again, "Well, yes, you shouldn't just do things like that. You should be more careful."

Levi was taken aback, he was used to Eren talking back to him but never as directly. However, the look in the boy's eyes held no disrespect, only..concern? Levi couldn't be sure, but whatever it was, it made his heartbeat race just a tad seeing Eren look at him like that.

"I didn't just do _things like that_," Levi replied, "I knew exactly what I was doing, as opposed to you earlier."

Eren shook his head, his hand closed around one of the iron bars in the balcony's fence, "Why can't you just _admit_ that your decision was just as rash as mine?"

Levi stepped closer to Eren. His heart picked up pace once more as he rested both his hands against the fence so that one was on either side of Eren's body. "Why do I have to admit anything?"

"B-Because," Eren was beginning to grow flustered again as he glanced down at Levi, noting that the Corporal's face was merely a couple of inches away from his. "Because I want to know if the reason you risked your life for me was the same reason I risked mine for you."

Levi's heart was racing faster by the second; his narrow dark grey eyes never left Eren's wide green ones. "And what is that reason?"

Eren's breath caught, and Levi could sense the rapid rise of Eren's chest due to their proximity. "I-" The boy closed his eyes then, and before Levi could register what was going on he felt the soft brush of Eren's lip against his.

His eyes widened at the suddenness of Eren's gesture, he would have never predicted the boy doing such thing.

And he could have never predicted his own reaction to such thing. His heart was full-on crashing within his chest then, and his eyes fluttered closed as heat rose up to his face.

Eren's breath caught again when Levi kissed him back, and Levi knew that Eren was as shocked by all of this as he was. The boy rested his hand on Levi's shoulder, his fingers tangling in the fabric of the Corporal's shirt. Levi stepped closer to Eren, closing the distance between them so that his body was almost pressed against Eren's.

In all his life, Levi never thought anything would ever make him feel the way he did now. A wide range of emotions went through him, shock, happiness, nervousness, and some that he didn't even have a name for. It felt as if a sense of fire was brewing within him. His hand slid away from the fence and down Eren's arm, taking the boy's hand in his.

Eren continued to kiss him, his fingers moved over Levi's shoulder to run through his hair, and once more the Corporal didn't pull back, only kept his lips on Eren's.

"L-Levi," Eren spoke against Levi's lips, pulling back slightly so that his forehead rested against Levi's, but their bodies remained close.

"You were never just humanity's strongest to me. You were never just a valuable soldier to me. You were always just Levi, just the man that caught m-my attention-" He stopped to catch his breath, attempting to slow down the rise and fall of his chest, "And kept it because of how strong, loyal and honorable he was. T-That's the reason. That's how I feel. I know-I don't-I mean-I don't know how you feel-I don't know why-I just-I lo-"

"Love you," Levi breathed out the words before Eren could finish them, and the boy froze in his hold. His eyes were wide again, and his now reddened lips were parted once more.

"I love you, brat."

* * *

_Author's note: Thank you all for continuing to read the story and being there to review it all along the way. For now, this will be the last chapter of Finding A Way. There may be a sequel later, but I don't know for sure. Thank you so much for reading this story, your feedback means the world to me and I can't explain how happy you all made me. Thank you so much and I hope I didn't disappoint any of you at any point along the story. _

_Thank you. _


	11. Sequel 1

_Author's note: Hello! So, first of all, I'd like to thank everyone for their amazing reviews and for sticking with this story. Second, I wasn't sure I'd make a sequel, but the idea came to me so I decided to write. I'm not sure how this will go so bear with me. And thank you all so much again._

_Very special thanks to Claude, for without his encouragement this wouldn't have happened, so this sequel is dedicated to him. _

_I will always be thankful for Jeager's paradise help as well. _

_Thank you all so much, please enjoy and I hope you won't be disappointed._

* * *

**Sequel: Part 1**

_Back inside.  
_

* * *

"I can't do this anymore. I'm done."

Eren dropped the gray rag he was holding, letting it fall into a bucket of water that stood beside his feet. He then allowed himself to slide to the ground, crouching down on his knees and letting his back slouch forward. Exhaustion creeped over every inch of his body, and he was contemplating closing his eyes and falling asleep right then and there when a voice caught his attention.

"Excuse me?"

A few feet away from Eren, Levi sat on a steel chair at the corner of the room. He had his feet hoisted up on a table, one leg crossed over the other. The Corporal was dressed in his uniform, save for the cape and the maneuver gear. He glanced sideways at Eren.

"I don't recall telling you that you're done," Levi said, stretching his arms behind his head and arching his back slightly. "You only cleaned half the room, that's nothing."

"Nothing_? Nothing?_" Eren's tone was full of disbelief at Levi's words, and as per usual, it rose higher. "I spent two hours cleaning this damn room, which is actually not a room; it's a damn storage room. A giant ass storage room. And I have no idea _why_ I'm cleaning it in the first place."

"Because this place is where we keep all our gear and uniforms, which are stuff we use more than frequently."

"So?" Eren asked, using the towel Levi insisted he keep on his shoulder to wipe sweat off his face.

"So if it were left unclean, dirt would form. Dirt will lead to the gear malfunctioning and the uniforms becoming filthy and infected. Both end results could be fatal. Your job is to eliminate that threat."

Eren scoffed, shaking his head. "Last time I checked defending humanity from the oh-so-dangerous existence of _germs_ wasn't exactly in my job description."

Levi rolled his eyes, looking away from Eren but smiling nonetheless. "Less smartass, more getting-off-your-ass."

Levi removed the towel he had wrapped around his neck, dipping it neatly in a water-bowl beside him before wringing it out and placing it back around his neck. Every window in the room was bolted shut, and so a few torches were lit to allow them to see, thus leading to a hellish temperature. Levi hated the clammy feel of the place, despite it being his choice, and used the towel to cool himself off.

"Can you explain why it's so fucking hot in here then? Why do you insist on maintaining this unbearable heat?"

"Endurance," Levi said, shrugging. "The temperature within a titan's body is high, you have to grow accustomed to this kind of thing to avoid growing a fever and passing out every time you turn. You must get used to it."

Eren scowled and wiped more sweat off his forehead and his neck, not making to get up.

"I still don't see you cleaning," Levi said.

"Why don't you do your own heroic cleaning?" Eren said, not taking his eyes off Levi. It's not like he could be blamed, Levi wasn't exactly making an effort to conceal himself. The way his body was sprawled between the chair and the table, still balanced gracefully even though most people would completely slouch in that position, made it hard for Eren not to stare.

It's been two weeks since he confessed his feelings to the Lance Corporal, and throughout those two weeks Levi only seemed to be getting more fit each day. He thought he'd be used to it by now, the whole spending time with Levi thing. He thought he would get less flustered as the days passed.

But boy was he wrong.

They returned back to the walls a couple of days after his operation, having fulfilled the goal of their HQ stay, which was Eren turning and gaining control of his titan form. True, his transformation was unexpected. No one could have possibly predicted that titans would attack the patrol, or that they would need to be rescued. Certainly not that Levi's life would be in immediate danger. Eren had turned despite being told not to then and rushed to get Levi away from the titans. That in its turn led to Eren acquiring an injury that remains, up until this very day, unexplained. Anyways, after they both were well, Irvin decided it would be best to return inside the walls for a month to regain strength and create new formations.

And ever since they got back, once his shoulder and rib bones were completely healed, Levi had spent a large portion of each day training. As soon as they woke up, Levi would take to working out. He'd stretch out and lift for about an hour, before showering and going outside to train with his gear for two hours, then showering again and cleaning up his room.

Well, technically it was their room. Eren spent almost every night with Levi since they returned; having to sneak to Levi's room after everyone had fallen asleep so as not to be spotted. They had both agreed to keep their relationship only to themselves, atleast for now-

"_Brat._"

Levi's voice cut Eren's line of thoughts short, and the boy blinked slightly, as if he were recovering of a daze.

"While I do enjoy the fact that you occasionally space out and stare at me with your jaw dropped like that," Levi said, his expression a mixture of amusement and slight irritation, "I wouldn't mind if you actually listened to me when I talked to you."

"S-I'm-I-Sorry," Eren muttered, feeling heat flood through his veins and rise up to his cheeks. The temperature of the room wasn't helping much in keeping his cheeks from reddening either.

"I'm not gonna repeat myself again," he said, his tone remained light despite his short-tempered words, "Just finish up cleaning so we can go get something to eat."

Levi removed the towel from around his neck again, putting it over his head for a moment before removing it. His hair was now dripping over his shoulders, dampening the jacket as the water slid over the fabric.

Eren stood up.

Levi glanced at him; and his gaze slid over Eren's body. It didn't seem like nothing more than a slight stray of vision, but the way his gaze lingered over Eren's body made Eren feel flustered.

He approached the corporal, sitting down again on his knees by Levi's chair. It was partially due to being too tired to stand, but also partially due to the fact that for some reason he felt too nervous whenever Levi had to look up at him.

"You were barely on your feet for two minutes, brat, get up," he said, his gaze finally meeting Eren's.

The other boy looked at him, his eyes a little wide. "No," he said, starting to feel a bit more than flustered.

His response earned him an amused glance from Levi, who raised an eyebrow. "No?"

Eren sat up straighter then, resting his hand on the back of the chair, his fingers brushing at the collars of Levi's jacket. "No, I've been working my ass off all morning," he said. It took every ounce of nerve in him not to break his eye contact with Levi.

"So?" Levi asked, not moving an inch. His expression remained neutral, but Eren could see the rise and fall of his chest quicken.

"So," Eren inched closer, pausing only when he could feel Levi's breath against his skin. "I think I earned myself a break."

His lips brushed against Levi's when he spoke, and Levi almost pressed his lips to Eren's, before the other boy pulled away.

Levi's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the fact that Eren pulled back. However, soon enough, that confusion was replaced by shock as he felt the soft touch of Eren's lips against his jaw.

Eren trailed kisses across Levi's jawline, he had his left palm pressed against the floor to support him up. Levi moved his hand to Eren's shoulder, his fingers gripping the material of Eren's green shirt. Eren moved his lips to Levi's neck then, gently placing two kisses on his Corporal's pale skin before starting to nibble at it.

A shiver ran through Levi's body, and his grip involuntarily tightened on Eren's shoulder. The touch of Eren's lips felt as if it left a trail of fire in its wake, and Levi had to bite down on his lip to keep any sound from escaping his mouth.

Eren smirked to himself as he felt Levi's grip tighten, and he lifted his hand up, grabbing the tip of Levi's cravate and tugging it. The knot came loose then, causing the cravate to fall over onto the chair next to Levi. Eren then left a kiss on Levi's collarbone, his hand trailing down Levi's shoulder before sliding under his jacket.

A moan built up in the back of Levi's throat, and he gritted his teeth together to stifle it. He gripped the collar of Eren's jacket then, letting his feet fall to the floor before sitting up and pulling the other boy up to him. He tilted his head so that Eren no longer had access to his neck; then pressed his lips to the other boy's.

Eren was taken aback for a second by the suddenness of Levi's actions, then his eyes fluttered shut, returning Levi's pressure against his lips. He wrapped his arms around Levi's neck, pulling Levi closer to him. The heat in the room seemed to have tripled in intensity for both of them, and Eren thought his skin might simply combust at any given moment.

Levi slid down from the chair then, bending his legs to crouch like Eren was and press his body closer to that of the brat he loved. He would never loudly admit it to Eren, but whenever Eren's skin came in contact with his, Levi would feel as if his entire thought process was transform. No, not transformed. Completely discarded. Banished. The fire that ran within his veins when Eren touched him made his mind cloud over, save for only one thought.

_More._

Eren adjusted himself so he was now sitting on the floor, before leaning back and pulling Levi to him. The latter let go of him, putting both his hands against the floor on either side of Eren to keep himself up as Eren continued to lean back until he was lying on the floor. Levi moved to straddle him, his knees against Eren's hips.

Their kisses became more urgent then, the pressure they exerted on eachother's lips increased. Eren trailed his hand down Levi's back, sliding his right hand under Levi's shirt.

The Corporal's heart was hammering against his chest; another shiver ran across his body at the touch of Eren's fingers over his lower back. He pressed himself even closer to Eren, kissing the corner of Eren's lips before moving his lips to Eren's throat.

Eren's let out a short shaky breath, his face reddening as Levi kissed all the way to the laces on the front of his shirt. His heart skipped a beat as he moved his left hand to Levi's stomach, sliding his fingers all the way down to the top button on Levi's pants.

At which point the corporal grabbed both his wrists, running his fingers down Eren's arms and pinning them on the floor above Eren's head. He moved his lips to Eren's ears then, the tip of his tongue brushing faintly against the other boy's ear lobe.

The right corner of Levi's mouth went up in a half-smirk then as he let go of Eren's arms, starting to lift himself off of him. "Finish the cleaning first," he whispered breathlessly.

* * *

The dinning room was buzzing with noise.

It was nothing unlike the small room they used for eating back at the HQ. Most people ate quietly there, only engaging in small talk once in a while. The room in which they were in now, however, was around four times as large. The Recon Corps were staying at the Garrison's dormitory complex, and so the dinning room was three quarters garrison, which explains the loud chatter and laughter.

Levi rolled his eyes, adjusting himself to make sure he was only sitting on the cape and not on the dusty bench. Auruo sat on his left side, while Eren sat on his right. Across from them were Erd, Gunther and Hanji. On Eren's other side, sat Mikasa and Armin. The table extended to also include Jean and a few others Levi couldn't name at the moment.

The only one missing was Petra. She had recovered from her comatose state, but she was still too weak to move around. They had used the carriage to bring her back when they rode inside the walls, and now she spends most of her time sleeping in a room upstairs. Levi sighed, the thought of one of his squad members being ill made him feel extremely uneasy. He made a mental note to take food up to her after they were done.

"Are you alright?"

Eren's voice snapped Levi back from his daze. The boy was looking at him, his expression one of concern. "Eh? Yeah," he muttered, meeting Eren's glance for a second before looking back down at his food, not wanting to fully stare at Eren infront of everyone.

"I can't handle the level of noise in this place," Auruo muttered, taking a bite out of the bread on his plate.

Erd nodded from across the table, "They never fucking shut up," he said, "How are they even eating?"

Gunther shrugged, shaking his head and pushing his tray aside once he was done eating.

"Carry that over to the sinks and wash it," Levi said, pointing towards the sinks that lined the wall.

Gunther muttered a complaint under his breath but grabbed the tray and stood up, knowing it would be a terrible idea to argue with Levi on this. Erd took his own tray and got up after him.

Hanji scooted over then so she was sitting directly infront of Eren. "How do you feel now?"

Eren bit down on the end of a potato, taking a small bite so as not to make a mess and earn himself another lecture from Levi. "You ask me that every single time you see me, Hanji," Eren said, "I'm fine, I don't feel anything wrong."

"Your temperature is stable? No dizziness or blurry vision?" Hanji asked, regarding Eren with a look of curious intent.

Eren shook his head, "Nothing, it's over now, isn't it? I'm healed."

Hanji nodded, "I know," she said, "But that doesn't change the fact that we still don't know how you were hurt or the exact consequences of that injury. There might be something still wrong with you that just hasn't showed itself yet."

Beside him, Levi tensed at the words. His demeanor didn't shift, but Eren could feel the tense flexing in Levi's muscles as his arm brushed against Eren's frequently.

"I'm fine, you're making way too much of a big deal out of it," Eren said, smiling at her with the secret intention of assuring Levi that he was fine.

"No, she's right," Armin spoke then, looking at Eren, "We have to keep checking on you still."

Eren scoffed, "I swear I'm fine."

"Still, it wouldn't hurt to be careful," Hanji said, then glanced at Levi, "Don't be too rough on him."

Eren's eyes widened, his face instantly flushing, "E-eh?"

"I know Levi probably pushes you to the limit in training," Hanji said, raising an eyebrow at Eren's expression.

Levi smacked the back of Eren's hand lightly then, "He can take it." Levi had to prevent himself from smirking at the way Eren reacted to Hanji's words.

Mikasa narrowed her eyes slightly at Levi, while Armin laughed. Hanji was about to make another argument about Eren's health when a figure approached the table, causing everyone to straighten up.

"Evening, soldiers," Irvin said as he walked towards them, stopping right behind Levi.

"Evening commander," Hanji said, "What brings you here? You don't usually eat with us."

"I'm not here to eat," Irvin said, looking at Levi. "I have news. There has been an.. occurence. The special operations squad needs to depart within 24 hours on a patrol outside the walls."

Eren's lips parted in surprise at the news, "Huh? Weren't the Corps supposed to stay for two more weeks?"

"Everyone else is; only the special operations are needed."

"I-Why are we needed?"

"That is something I cannot reveal at the moment," Irvin said, "I only came here to inform Levi that he needs to prepare."

Before anyone else could comment, Eren nodded. "Y-Yes sir, we'll be ready."

Irvin shook his head, "No need for you to be ready Eren, you'll be staying here."


End file.
